H. R. 2491—774
SEC. 12314. AMENDMENTS CONCERNING INCOME WITHHOLDING.
(a) MANDATORY INCOME WITHHOLDING.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 466(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(1))
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(1)(A) Procedures described in subsection (b) for the
withholding from income of amounts payable as support in
cases subject to enforcement under the State plan.
‘‘(B) Procedures under which the wages of a person with
a support obligation imposed by a support order issued (or
modified) in the State before October 1, 1996, if not otherwise
subject to withholding under subsection (b), shall become sub-
ject to withholding as provided in subsection (b) if arrearages
occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hear-
ing.’’.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(A) Section 466(b) (42 U.S.C. 666(b)) is amended in
the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘subsection
(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(1)(A)’’.
(B) Section 466(b)(4) (42 U.S.C. 666(b)(4)) is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(4)(A) Such withholding must be carried out in full compli-
ance with all procedural due process requirements of the State,
and the State must send notice to each noncustodial parent
to whom paragraph (1) applies—
‘‘(i) that the withholding has commenced; and
‘‘(ii) of the procedures to follow if the noncustodial
parent desires to contest such withholding on the grounds
that the withholding or the amount withheld is improper
due to a mistake of fact.
‘‘(B) The notice under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph
shall include the information provided to the employer under
paragraph (6)(A).’’.
(C) Section 466(b)(5) (42 U.S.C. 666(b)(5)) is amended
by striking all that follows ‘‘administered by’’ and inserting
‘‘the State through the State disbursement unit established
pursuant to section 454B, in accordance with the require-
ments of section 454B.’’.
(D) Section 466(b)(6)(A) (42 U.S.C. 666(b)(6)(A)) is
amended—
(i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘to the appropriate
agency’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘to the State
disbursement unit within 2 business days after the
date the amount would (but for this subsection) have
been paid or credited to the employee, for distribution
in accordance with this part. The employer shall com-
ply with the procedural rules relating to income
withholding of the State in which the employee works,
regardless of the State where the notice originates.’’.
(ii) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘be in a standard
format prescribed by the Secretary, and’’ after ‘‘shall’’;
and
(iii) by adding at the end the following new clause:
‘‘(iii) As used in this subparagraph, the term ‘business
day’ means a day on which State offices are open for regular
business.’’.
H. R. 2491—775
(E) Section 466(b)(6)(D) (42 U.S.C. 666(b)(6)(D)) is
amended by striking ‘‘any employer’’ and all that follows
and inserting ‘‘any employer who—
‘‘(i) discharges from employment, refuses to employ,
or takes disciplinary action against any noncustodial parent
subject to wage withholding required by this subsection
because of the existence of such withholding and the obliga-
tions or additional obligations which it imposes upon the
employer; or
‘‘(ii) fails to withhold support from wages, or to pay
such amounts to the State disbursement unit in accordance
with this subsection.’’.
(F) Section 466(b) (42 U.S.C. 666(b)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(11) Procedures under which the agency administering
the State plan approved under this part may execute a
withholding order without advance notice to the obligor, includ-
ing issuing the withholding order through electronic means.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 466(c) (42 U.S.C. 666(c))
is repealed.
SEC. 12315. LOCATOR INFORMATION FROM INTERSTATE NETWORKS.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)) is amended by adding at
the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(12) LOCATOR
INFORMATION
FROM
INTERSTATE
NET-
WORKS.—Procedures to ensure that all Federal and State agen-
cies conducting activities under this part have access to any
system used by the State to locate an individual for purposes
relating to motor vehicles or law enforcement.’’.
SEC. 12316. EXPANSION OF THE FEDERAL PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE.
(a) EXPANDED
AUTHORITY
TO
LOCATE
INDIVIDUALS
AND
ASSETS.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking all that follows ‘‘subsection
(c))’’ and inserting ‘‘, for the purpose of establishing parentage,
establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing
child support obligations, or enforcing child custody or visitation
orders—
‘‘(1) information on, or facilitating the discovery of, the
location of any individual—
‘‘(A) who is under an obligation to pay child support
or provide child custody or visitation rights;
‘‘(B) against whom such an obligation is sought;
‘‘(C) to whom such an obligation is owed,
including the individual’s social security number (or numbers),
most recent address, and the name, address, and employer
identification number of the individual’s employer;
‘‘(2) information on the individual’s wages (or other income)
from, and benefits of, employment (including rights to or enroll-
ment in group health care coverage); and
‘‘(3) information on the type, status, location, and amount
of any assets of, or debts owed by or to, any such individual.’’;
and
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
‘‘social security’’ and all that follows through ‘‘absent par-
ent’’ and inserting ‘‘information described in subsection
(a)’’; and
H. R. 2491—776
(B) in the flush paragraph at the end, by adding the
following: ‘‘No information shall be disclosed to any person
if the State has notified the Secretary that the State has
reasonable evidence of domestic violence or child abuse
and the disclosure of such information could be harmful
to the custodial parent or the child of such parent. Informa-
tion received or transmitted pursuant to this section shall
be subject to the safeguard provisions contained in section
454(26).’’.
(b) AUTHORIZED PERSON FOR INFORMATION REGARDING VISITA-
TION RIGHTS.—Section 453(c) (42 U.S.C. 653(c)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘support’’ and inserting
‘‘support or to seek to enforce orders providing child custody
or visitation rights’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, or any agent of such
court; and’’ and inserting ‘‘or to issue an order against a resident
parent for child custody or visitation rights, or any agent of
such court;’’.
(c) REIMBURSEMENT FOR INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGEN-
CIES.—Section 453(e)(2) (42 U.S.C. 653(e)(2)) is amended in the
4th sentence by inserting ‘‘in an amount which the Secretary deter-
mines to be reasonable payment for the information exchange
(which amount shall not include payment for the costs of obtaining,
compiling, or maintaining the information)’’ before the period.
(d) REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPORTS BY STATE AGENCIES.—Section
453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
‘‘(g) REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPORTS BY STATE AGENCIES.—The
Secretary may reimburse Federal and State agencies for the costs
incurred by such entities in furnishing information requested by
the Secretary under this section in an amount which the Secretary
determines to be reasonable payment for the information exchange
(which amount shall not include payment for the costs of obtaining,
compiling, or maintaining the information).’’.
(e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Sections 452(a)(9), 453(a), 453(b), 463(a), 463(e), and
463(f) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(9), 653(a), 653(b), 663(a), 663(e), and
663(f)) are each amended by inserting ‘‘Federal’’ before ‘‘Parent’’
each place such term appears.
(2) Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is amended in the heading
by adding ‘‘FEDERAL’’ before ‘‘PARENT’’.
(f) NEW
COMPONENTS.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653), as
amended by subsection (d) of this section, is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsections:
‘‘(h) FEDERAL CASE REGISTRY OF CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1, 1998, in order
to assist States in administering programs under State plans
approved under this part and programs funded under part
A, and for the other purposes specified in this section, the
Secretary shall establish and maintain in the Federal Parent
Locator Service an automated registry (which shall be known
as the ‘Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders’), which
shall contain abstracts of support orders and other information
described in paragraph (2) with respect to each case in each
State case registry maintained pursuant to section 454A(e),
as furnished (and regularly updated), pursuant to section
H. R. 2491—777
454A(f), by State agencies administering programs under this
part.
‘‘(2) CASE INFORMATION.—The information referred to in
paragraph (1) with respect to a case shall be such information
as the Secretary may specify in regulations (including the
names, social security numbers or other uniform identification
numbers, and State case identification numbers) to identify
the individuals who owe or are owed support (or with respect
to or on behalf of whom support obligations are sought to
be established), and the State or States which have the case.
‘‘(i) NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to assist States in administering
programs under State plans approved under this part and
programs funded under part A, and for the other purposes
specified in this section, the Secretary shall, not later than
October 1, 1996, establish and maintain in the Federal Parent
Locator Service an automated directory to be known as the
National Directory of New Hires, which shall contain the
information supplied pursuant to section 453A(g)(2).
‘‘(2) ENTRY OF DATA.—Information shall be entered into
the data base maintained by the National Directory of New
Hires within 2 business days of receipt pursuant to section
453A(g)(2).
‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION OF FEDERAL TAX LAWS.—The Secretary
of the Treasury shall have access to the information in the
National Directory of New Hires for purposes of administering
section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the advance
payment of the earned income tax credit under section 3507
of such Code, and verifying a claim with respect to employment
in a tax return.
‘‘(4) LIST OF MULTISTATE EMPLOYERS.—The Secretary shall
maintain within the National Directory of New Hires a list
of multistate employers that report information regarding
newly hired employees pursuant to section 453A(b)(1)(B), and
the State which each such employer has designated to receive
such information.
‘‘(j) INFORMATION COMPARISONS AND OTHER DISCLOSURES.—
‘‘(1) VERIFICATION BY SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall transmit
information on individuals and employers maintained
under this section to the Social Security Administration
to the extent necessary for verification in accordance with
subparagraph (B).
‘‘(B) VERIFICATION
BY
SSA.—The Social Security
Administration shall verify the accuracy of, correct, or sup-
ply to the extent possible, and report to the Secretary,
the following information supplied by the Secretary pursu-
ant to subparagraph (A):
‘‘(i) The name, social security number, and birth
date of each such individual.
‘‘(ii) The employer identification number of each
such employer.
‘‘(2) INFORMATION COMPARISONS.—For the purpose of locat-
ing individuals in a paternity establishment case or a case
involving the establishment, modification, or enforcement of
a support order, the Secretary shall—