I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 785
To improve and strengthen the child support collection system.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 1, 1995
Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut (for herself, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mrs. KENNELLY,
Mrs. MORELLA, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Ms. NORTON, Ms. RIV-
ERS, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Ms. HARMAN, Ms. DUNN of Washington,
Mr. GREENWOOD, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE
JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. PRYCE, Ms. MOLINARI, Mrs.
CLAYTON, and Ms. WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Ways and Means and, in addition, to the
Committees on the Judiciary, National Security, Government Reform and
Oversight, International Relations, Economic and Educational Opportuni-
ties, and Banking and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To improve and strengthen the child support collection
system.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE; TABLE OF CON-
TENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Child Support Responsibility Act of 1995’’.
(b) REFERENCE TO SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Except
as otherwise specifically provided, wherever in this Act an
amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment to or
repeal of a section or other provision, the reference shall
be considered to be made to that section or other provision
of the Social Security Act.
(c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; reference; table of contents.
Subtitle A—Eligibility and Other Matters Concerning Title IV–D Program
Clients
Sec. 101. State obligation to provide paternity establishment and child support
enforcement services.
Sec. 102. Distribution of payments.
Sec. 103. Due process rights.
Sec. 104. Privacy safeguards.
Subtitle B—Program Administration and Funding
Sec. 111. Federal matching payments.
Sec. 112. Performance-based incentives and penalties.
Sec. 113. Federal and State reviews and audits.
Sec. 114. Required reporting procedures.
Sec. 115. Automated data processing requirements.
Sec. 116. Director of CSE program; staffing study.
Sec. 117. Funding for secretarial assistance to State programs.
Sec. 118. Reports and data collection by the Secretary.
Subtitle C—Locate and Case Tracking
Sec. 121. Central State and case registry.
Sec. 122. Centralized collection and disbursement of support payments.
Sec. 123. Amendments concerning income withholding.
Sec. 124. Locator information from interstate networks.
Sec. 125. Expanded Federal Parent Locator Service.
Sec. 126. Use of social security numbers.
Subtitle D—Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures
Sec. 131. Adoption of uniform State laws.
Sec. 132. Improvements to full faith and credit for child support orders.
Sec. 133. State laws providing expedited procedures.
Subtitle E—Paternity Establishment
Sec. 141. State laws concerning paternity establishment.
Sec. 142. Outreach for voluntary paternity establishment.
Subtitle F—Establishment and Modification of Support Orders
Sec. 151. National Child Support Guidelines Commission.
Sec. 152. Simplified process for review and adjustment of child support orders.
Subtitle G—Enforcement of Support Orders
Sec. 161. Federal income tax refund offset.
Sec. 162. Internal revenue service collection of arrears.
Sec. 163. Authority to collect support from Federal employees.
Sec. 164. Enforcement of child support obligations of members of the Armed
Forces.
Sec. 165. Motor vehicle liens.
Sec. 166. Voiding of fraudulent transfers.
Sec. 167. State law authorizing suspension of licenses.
Sec. 168. Reporting arrearages to credit bureaus.
Sec. 169. Extended statute of limitation for collection of arrearages.
Sec. 170. Charges for arrearages.
Sec. 171. Denial of passports for nonpayment of child support.
Sec. 172. International child support enforcement.
Subtitle H—Medical Support
Sec. 181. Technical correction to ERISA definition of medical child support
order.
Subtitle I—Effect of Enactment
Sec. 191. Effective dates.
Sec. 192. Severability.
Subtitle A—Eligibility and Other
Matters Concerning Title IV–D
Program Clients
SEC. 101. STATE OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE PATERNITY ES-
TABLISHMENT 
AND 
CHILD 
SUPPORT 
EN-
FORCEMENT SERVICES.
(a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENTS.—Section 466(a)
(42 U.S.C. 666(a)) is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(12) USE OF CENTRAL CASE REGISTRY AND
CENTRALIZED
COLLECTIONS
UNIT.—Procedures
under which—
‘‘(A) every child support order established
or modified in the State on or after October 1,
1998, is recorded in the central case registry
established in accordance with section 454A(e);
and
‘‘(B) child support payments are collected
through the centralized collections unit estab-
lished in accordance with section 454B—
‘‘(i) on and after October 1, 1998,
under each order subject to wage withhold-
ing under section 466(b); and
‘‘(ii) on and after October 1, 1999,
under each other order required to be re-
corded in such central case registry under
this paragraph or section 454A(e), except
as provided in subparagraph (C); and
‘‘(C)(i) parties subject to a child support
order described in subparagraph (B)(ii) may
opt out of the procedure for payment of support
through the centralized collections unit (but not
the procedure for inclusion in the central case
registry) by filing with the State agency a writ-
ten agreement, signed by both parties, to an
alternative payment procedure; and
‘‘(ii) an agreement described in clause (i)
becomes void whenever either party advises the
State agency of an intent to vacate the agree-
ment.’’.
(b) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—Section 454 (42
U.S.C. 654) is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(4) provide that such State will undertake—
‘‘(A) to provide appropriate services under
this part to—
‘‘(i) each child with respect to whom
an assignment is effective under section
402(a)(26), 471(a)(17), or 1912 (except in
cases where the State agency determines,
in accordance with paragraph (25), that it
is against the best interests of the child to
do so); and
‘‘(ii) each child not described in clause
(i)—
‘‘(I) with respect to whom an in-
dividual applies for such services; and
‘‘(II) (on and after October 1,
1998) each child with respect to
whom a support order is recorded in
the central State case registry estab-
lished under section 454A, regardless
of whether application is made for
services under this part; and
‘‘(B) to enforce the support obligation es-
tablished with respect to the custodial parent of
a child described in subparagraph (A) unless
the parties to the order which establishes the
support obligation have opted, in accordance
with section 466(a)(12)(C), for an alternative
payment procedure.’’; and
(2) in paragraph (6)—
(A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in-
serting the following:
‘‘(A) services under the State plan shall be
made available to nonresidents on the same
terms as to residents;’’;
(B) in subparagraph (B)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘on individuals not re-
ceiving assistance under part A’’ after
‘‘such services shall be imposed’’; and
(ii) by inserting ‘‘but no fees or costs
shall be imposed on any absent or custo-
dial parent or other individual for inclusion
in the central State registry maintained
pursuant to section 454A(e)’’; and
(C) in each of subparagraphs (B), (C), and
(D)—
(i) by indenting such subparagraph
and aligning its left margin with the left
margin of subparagraph (A); and
(ii) by striking the final comma and
inserting a semicolon.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) 
Section 
452(g)(2)(A) 
(42 
U.S.C.
652(g)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘454(6)’’ each
place it appears and inserting ‘‘454(4)(A)(ii)’’.
(2) Section 454(23) (42 U.S.C. 654(23)) is
amended, effective October 1, 1998, by striking ‘‘in-
formation as to any application fees for such services
and’’.
(3) 
Section 
466(a)(3)(B) 
(42 
U.S.C.
666(a)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘in the case of
overdue support which a State has agreed to collect
under section 454(6)’’ and inserting ‘‘in any other
case’’.
(4) Section 466(e) (42 U.S.C. 666(e)) is
amended by striking ‘‘or (6)’’.
SEC. 102. DISTRIBUTION OF PAYMENTS.
(a) DISTRIBUTIONS THROUGH STATE CHILD SUP-
PORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO FORMER ASSISTANCE
RECIPIENTS.—Section 454(5) (42 U.S.C. 654(5)) is
amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘except as otherwise spe-
cifically provided in section 464 or 466(a)(3),’’
after ‘‘is effective,’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘except that’’ and all that
follows through the semicolon; and
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, except’’
and all that follows through ‘‘medical assistance’’.
(b) DISTRIBUTION TO A FAMILY CURRENTLY RE-
CEIVING AFDC.—Section 457 (42 U.S.C. 657) is amend-
ed—
(1) by striking subsection (a) and redesignating
subsection (b) as subsection (a);
(2) in subsection (a), as redesignated—
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (2),
to read as follows:
‘‘(a) IN
THE
CASE
OF
A
FAMILY
RECEIVING
AFDC.—Amounts collected under this part during any
month as support of a child who is receiving assistance
under part A (or a parent or caretaker relative of such
a child) shall (except in the case of a State exercising the
option under subsection (b)) be distributed as follows:
‘‘(1) an amount equal to the amount that will
be disregarded pursuant to section 402(a)(8)(A)(vi)
shall be taken from each of—
‘‘(A) amounts received in a month which
represent payments for that month; and
‘‘(B) amounts received in a month which
represent payments for a prior month which
were made by the absent parent in the month
when due;
and shall be paid to the family without affecting its
eligibility for assistance or decreasing any amount
otherwise payable as assistance to such family dur-
ing such month;’’;
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or (B)’’
and all that follows and inserting ‘‘; then (B)
from any remainder, amounts equal to arrear-
ages of such support obligations assigned, pur-
suant to part A, to any other State or States
shall be paid to such other State or States and
used to pay any such arrearages (with appro-
priate reimbursement of the Federal Govern-
ment to the extent of its participation in the fi-
nancing); and then (C) any remainder shall be
paid to the family.’’.
(3) by inserting after subsection (a), as redesig-
nated, the following new subsection:
‘‘(b) ALTERNATIVE DISTRIBUTION IN CASE OF FAM-
ILY RECEIVING AFDC.—In the case of a State electing
the option under this subsection, amounts collected as de-
scribed in subsection (a) shall be distributed as follows:
‘‘(1) an amount equal to the amount that will
be disregarded pursuant to section 402(a)(8)(A)(vi)
shall be taken from each of—
‘‘(A) amounts received in a month which
represent payments for that month; and
‘‘(B) amounts received in a month which
represent payments for a prior month which
were made by the absent parent in the month
when due;
and shall be paid to the family without affecting its
eligibility for assistance or decreasing any amount
otherwise payable as assistance to such family dur-
ing such month;
‘‘(2) second, from any remainder, amounts
equal to the balance of support owed for the current
month shall be paid to the family;
‘‘(3) third, from any remainder, amounts equal
to arrearages of such support obligations assigned,
pursuant to part A, to the State making the collec-
tion shall be retained and used by such State to pay
any such arrearages (with appropriate reimburse-
ment of the Federal Government to the extent of its
participation in the financing);
‘‘(4) fourth, from any remainder, amounts
equal to arrearages of such support obligations as-
signed, pursuant to part A, to any other State or
States shall be paid to such other State or States
and used to pay any such arrearages (with appro-
priate reimbursement of the Federal Government to
the extent of its participation in the financing); and
‘‘(5) fifth, any remainder shall be paid to the
family.’’.
(c) DISTRIBUTION TO A FAMILY NOT RECEIVING
AFDC.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 457(c) (42 U.S.C.
657(c)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) IN CASE OF FAMILY NOT RECEIVING AFDC.—
Amounts collected by a State agency under this part dur-
ing any month as support of a child who is not receiving
assistance under part A (or of a parent or caretaker rel-
ative of such a child) shall (subject to the remaining provi-
sions of this section) be distributed as follows:
‘‘(1) first, amounts equal to the total of such
support owed for such month shall be paid to the
family;
‘‘(2) second, from any remainder, amounts
equal to arrearages of such support obligations for
months during which such child did not receive as-
sistance under part A shall be paid to the family;
‘‘(3) third, from any remainder, amounts equal
to arrearages of such support obligations assigned to
the State making the collection pursuant to part A
shall be retained and used by such State to pay any
such arrearages (with appropriate reimbursement of
the Federal Government to the extent of its partici-
pation in the financing);
‘‘(4) fourth, from any remainder, amounts
equal to arrearages of such support obligations as-
signed to any other State pursuant to part A shall
be paid to such other State or States, and used to
pay such arrearages, in the order in which such ar-
rearages accrued (with appropriate reimbursement
of the Federal Government to the extent of its par-
ticipation in the financing).’’.
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made
by paragraph (1) shall take effect on October 1,
1999.
(d) DISTRIBUTION TO A CHILD RECEIVING ASSIST-
ANCE UNDER TITLE IV–E.—Section 457(d) (42 U.S.C.
657(d)) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding provisions
of this section, amounts’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘(d) IN CASE OF A CHILD RECEIVING ASSISTANCE
UNDER TITLE IV–E.—Amounts’’.
(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall promulgate regulations—
(1) under part D of title IV of the Social Secu-
rity Act, establishing a uniform nationwide standard
for allocation of child support collections from an ob-
ligor owing support to more than one family; and
(2) under part A of such title, establishing
standards applicable to States electing the alter-
native formula under section 457(b) of such Act for
distribution of collections on behalf of families re-
ceiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children,
designed to minimize irregular monthly payments to
such families.
(f) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 454 (42 U.S.C.
654) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘(11)’’ and
inserting ‘‘(11)(A)’’; and
(2) by redesignating paragraph (12) as sub-
paragraph (B) of paragraph (11).
(g) MANDATORY CHILD SUPPORT PASS-THROUGH.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(a)(8)(A)(vi) (42
U.S.C. 602(a)(8)(A)(vi)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘$50’’ each place such
term appears and inserting ‘‘$50, or, if greater,
$50 adjusted by the CPI (as prescribed in sec-
tion 406(i));’’; and
(B) by striking the semicolon at the end
and inserting ‘‘or, in lieu of each dollar amount
specified in this clause, such greater amount as
the State may choose (and provide for in its
State plan);’’.
(2) 
CPI 
ADJUSTMENT.—Section 
406 
(42
U.S.C. 606) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(i) For purposes of this part, an amount is ‘adjusted
by the CPI’ for any month in a calendar year by multiply-
ing the amount involved by the ratio of—
‘‘(1) the Consumer Price Index (as prepared by
the Department of Labor) for the third quarter of
the preceding calendar year, to
‘‘(2) such Consumer Price Index for the third
quarter of calendar year 1996,
and rounding the product, if not a multiple of $10, to the
nearer multiple of $10.’’.
SEC. 103. DUE PROCESS RIGHTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as
amended by section 102(f) of this Act, is amended by in-
serting after paragraph (11) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(12) provide for procedures to ensure that—
‘‘(A) individuals who are applying for or
receiving services under this part, or are parties
to cases in which services are being provided
under this part—
‘‘(i) receive notice of all proceedings in
which support obligations might be estab-
lished or modified; and
‘‘(ii) receive a copy of any order estab-
lishing or modifying a child support obliga-
tion, or (in the case of a petition for modi-
fication) a notice of determination that
there should be no change in the amount
of the child support award, within 14 days
after issuance of such order or determina-
tion;
‘‘(B) individuals applying for or receiving
services under this part have access to a fair
hearing that meets standards established by the
Secretary and ensures prompt consideration
and resolution of complaints (but the resort to
such procedure shall not stay the enforcement
of any support order); and
‘‘(C)(i) individuals adversely affected by
the establishment or modification of (or, in the
case of a petition for modification, the deter-
mination that there should be no change in) a
child support order shall be afforded not less
than 30 days after the receipt of the order or
determination to initiate proceedings to chal-
lenge such order or determination; and
‘‘(ii) the State may not provide to any
noncustodial parent of a child representation re-
lating to the establishment or modification of
an order for the payment of child support with
respect to that child, unless the State makes
provision for such representation outside the
State agency;’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall become effective on October 1, 1997.
SEC. 104. PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS.
(a) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 454 (42
U.S.C. 454) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(23);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (24) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding after paragraph (24) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(25) will have in effect safeguards applicable
to all sensitive and confidential information handled
by the State agency designed to protect the privacy
rights of the parties, including—
‘‘(A) safeguards against unauthorized use
or disclosure of information relating to proceed-
ings or actions to establish paternity, or to es-
tablish or enforce support;
‘‘(B) prohibitions on the release of infor-
mation on the whereabouts of one party to an-
other party against whom a protective order
with respect to the former party has been en-
tered; and
‘‘(C) prohibitions on the release of infor-
mation on the whereabouts of one party to an-
other party if the State has reason to believe
that the release of the information may result
in physical or emotional harm to the former
party.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall become effective on October 1, 1997.
Subtitle B—Program
Administration and Funding
SEC. 111. FEDERAL MATCHING PAYMENTS.
(a) INCREASED BASE MATCHING RATE.—Section
455(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(2)) is amended to read as
follows:
‘‘(2) The applicable percent for a quarter for
purposes of paragraph (1)(A) is—
‘‘(A) for fiscal year 1997, 69 percent,
‘‘(B) for fiscal year 1998, 72 percent, and
‘‘(C) for fiscal year 1999 and succeeding
fiscal years, 75 percent.’’.
(b) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Section 455 (42
U.S.C. 655) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(1), in the matter preced-
ing subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘From’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Subject to subsection (c), from’’; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow-
ing new subsection:
‘‘(c) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsection (a), total expenditures for the
State program under this part for fiscal year 1997 and
each succeeding fiscal year, reduced by the percentage
specified for such fiscal year under subsection (a)(2)(A),
(B), or (C)(i), shall not be less than such total expendi-
tures for fiscal year 1996, reduced by 66 percent.’’.
SEC. 112. PERFORMANCE-BASED INCENTIVES AND PEN-
ALTIES.
(a) INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS TO FEDERAL MATCH-
ING RATE.—Section 458 (42 U.S.C. 658) is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS TO MATCHING RATE
‘‘SEC. 458. (a) INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENT.—(1) IN
GENERAL.—In order to encourage and reward State child
support enforcement programs which perform in an effec-
tive manner, the Federal matching rate for payments to
a State under section 455(a)(1)(A), for each fiscal year
beginning on or after October 1, 1998, shall be increased
by a factor reflecting the sum of the applicable incentive
adjustments (if any) determined in accordance with regu-
lations under this section with respect to Statewide pater-
nity establishment and to overall performance in child sup-
port enforcement.
‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—(A) IN GENERAL.—The Sec-
retary shall specify in regulations—
‘‘(i) the levels of accomplishment, and rates of
improvement as alternatives to such levels, which
States must attain to qualify for incentive adjust-
ments under this section; and
‘‘(ii) the amounts of incentive adjustment that
shall be awarded to States achieving specified ac-
complishment or improvement levels, which amounts
shall be graduated, ranging up to—
‘‘(I) 5 percentage points, in connection
with Statewide paternity establishment; and
‘‘(II) 10 percentage points, in connection
with overall performance in child support en-
forcement.
‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—In setting performance stand-
ards pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i) and adjustment
amounts pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary
shall ensure that the aggregate number of percentage
point increases as incentive adjustments to all States do
not exceed such aggregate increases as assumed by the
Secretary in estimates of the cost of this section as of
June 1995, unless the aggregate performance of all States
exceeds the projected aggregate performance of all States
in such cost estimates.
‘‘(3) DETERMINATION
OF
INCENTIVE
ADJUST-
MENT.—The Secretary shall determine the amount (if
any) of incentive adjustment due each State on the basis
of the data submitted by the State pursuant to section