I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 278
To establish the Federal right of every unemancipated child to be supported
by such child’s parent or parents and, therefore, to confer upon certain
local courts of the District of Columbia and every State and territory
of the United States jurisdiction to enforce such right regardless of
such child’s residence.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 4, 1995
Mr. JACOBS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary
A BILL
To establish the Federal right of every unemancipated child
to be supported by such child’s parent or parents and,
therefore, to confer upon certain local courts of the Dis-
trict of Columbia and every State and territory of the
United States jurisdiction to enforce such right regard-
less of such child’s residence.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Support Pay-
ment Act’’.
SEC. 2. DECLARATIONS OF CONGRESS.
(a) RIGHT TO SUPPORT.—The Congress hereby de-
clares that every unemancipated child has a natural,
moral, social, and Federal right to be supported by such
child’s parent or parents and that such right transcends
the status of debt.
(b) EFFECT OF EXERCISE OF RIGHT TO TRAVEL.—
The Congress further declares that while sound national
policy requires that migration throughout the United
States be unrestricted, experience has disclosed that in the
exercise of the right of migration and travel many individ-
uals leave behind them dependent and neglected children;
and that although the courts of the State in which such
children reside may have properly ordered an individual
to meet his or her natural, moral, social, and Federal obli-
gation to such children, once such individual has traveled
to another State such individual has a practical sanctuary
against jurisdiction of the original State of residence.
(c) INSTANCES OF DEPARTURE PRECEDING COURT
JURISDICTION.—The Congress further declares that in
other instances the departure preceded acquisition of ju-
risdiction over the individual by courts of the original
State with like result.
(d) CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AMENDMENTS
OF 1984 WERE SIGNIFICANT STEPS.—In enacting the
Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984 the
Congress took significant steps to assist children in ob-
taining needed financial support from their parents re-
gardless of their circumstances, but many of the evils out-
lined above remain.
(e) POLICY.—It is the policy of Congress in this Act
to correct these evils—
(1) by requiring that orders of State courts di-
recting individuals to meet their natural, moral, so-
cial, and Federal obligations to such children shall
be enforced in the State courts in areas to which
such individuals have migrated from the original ju-
risdiction within the United States; and
(2) by giving State courts, in States to which
such individuals have migrated, original jurisdiction
in suits brought by citizens of other States to order
such migrants to meet such obligations, to the end
that such children will not suffer want or be made
the objects of public welfare and thus become an un-
necessary burden to the general public and be them-
selves thereby humiliated.
SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT OF STATE COURT ORDERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part VI of title 28, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the follow-
ing new chapter:
‘‘CHAPTER 180.—ENFORCEMENT OF STATE
COURT SUPPORT ORDERS
‘‘Sec.
‘‘3801. Definitions.
‘‘3802. Registration of support orders.
‘‘3803. Enforcement.
‘‘3804. Notice to original court.
‘‘§ 3801. Definitions
‘‘As used in this chapter—
‘‘(1) the term ‘support order’ means an order of
a State court having jurisdiction over an individual,
directing such individual to make payments periodi-
cally to (or for the support of) such individual’s
child (whether the issue of such individual’s body, le-
gitimate or illegitimate, or adopted);
‘‘(2) the term ‘obligor’, with respect to a sup-
port order, means an individual who is directed to
make payments under the order;
‘‘(3) the term ‘obligee’ means any individual to
whom the proceeds of a support order are payable
for such individual, or for the use or benefit of an-
other individual, or such other individual’s guardian
or guardian ad litem;
‘‘(4) the term ‘original court’, with respect to a
support order, means the court in which the order
was made;
‘‘(5) the term ‘State’ includes the territories
and the District of Columbia; and
‘‘(6) the term ‘registered’, with respect to a
support order, means registered under section 3102
of this title.
‘‘§ 3802. Registration of support orders
‘‘Any obligee of a support order may register the
order in any court of any State in which an obligor of
the order resides, if the court is located outside the State
in which the order was made, and has jurisdiction to issue
support orders. Registration shall be accomplished by fil-
ing with the clerk of the court a certified copy of the sup-
port order and of each order of the original court modify-
ing the support order.
‘‘§ 3803. Enforcement
‘‘(a) Any court in which a support order is registered
shall entertain contempt proceedings, in the same manner
as if the order were an order of such court, against an
obligor who fails to comply with the order within thirty
days after being served notice that it has been registered.
‘‘(b) No proceedings to enforce a support order shall
be begun in any court under this section unless a copy
of each order of the original court modifying the support
order is registered under section 3102 of this title.
‘‘(c) The cost of enforcement proceedings under this
section shall be taxed against the party against whom the
issues are resolved. The obligor shall be required to pay
a reasonable attorney fee to the obligee if the court finds
the proceedings were necessary to compel the obligor to
comply with the support order.
‘‘§ 3804. Notice to original court
‘‘When, in any court, any support order is registered
under section 3102 of this title or any proceedings are
taken under section 3103 of this title to enforce a support
order, written notice of such action under the seal of such
court shall be sent to the original court.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters
for part VI of title 28, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end thereof the following new item:
‘‘180. Enforcement of State Court Support Orders ................................. 3801’’.
SEC. 4. STATE COURT JURISDICTION.
Section 1332 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(e) State courts shall have original jurisdiction of
civil actions brought by a citizen of another State to order
a citizen of the State in which the court is located to make
payments periodically to (or for the support of) such citi-
zen’s child (whether the issue of such citizen’s body, legiti-
mate or illegitimate, or adopted) if under the law of such
State a State court is authorized to make such an order,
as an incident to a divorce proceeding or otherwise.’’.
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