105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3130
AN ACT
To provide for an alternative penalty procedure for
States that fail to meet Federal child support
data processing requirements, to reform Federal
incentive payments for effective child support
performance, to provide for a more flexible pen-
alty procedure for States that violate interjuris-
dictional adoption requirements, to amend the
Immigration and Nationality Act to make certain
aliens determined to be delinquent in the pay-
ment of child support inadmissible and ineligible
for naturalization, and for other purposes.
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3130
AN ACT
To provide for an alternative penalty procedure for States
that fail to meet Federal child support data processing
requirements, to reform Federal incentive payments for
effective child support performance, to provide for a more
flexible penalty procedure for States that violate inter-
jurisdictional adoption requirements, to amend the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act to make certain aliens deter-
mined to be delinquent in the payment of child support
inadmissible and ineligible for naturalization, and for
other purposes.
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 ‘‘Child Support Per-
formance and Incentive Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I—CHILD SUPPORT DATA PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS
Sec. 101. Alternative penalty procedure.
Sec. 102. Authority to waive single Statewide automated data processing and
information retrieval system requirement.
TITLE II—CHILD SUPPORT INCENTIVE SYSTEM
Sec. 201. Incentive payments to States.
TITLE III—ADOPTION PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. More flexible penalty procedure to be applied for failing to permit
interjurisdictional adoption.
TITLE IV—TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS
Sec. 401. Technical corrections.
TITLE V—IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS
Sec. 501. Aliens ineligible to receive visas and excluded from admission for non-
payment of child support.
Sec. 502. Effect of nonpayment of child support on establishment of good
moral character.
Sec. 503. Authorization to serve legal process in child support cases on certain
arriving aliens.
Sec. 504. Authorization to obtain information on child support payments by
aliens.
TITLE I—CHILD SUPPORT DATA
PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS
SEC. 101. ALTERNATIVE PENALTY PROCEDURE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 455(a) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 655(a)) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(4)(A) If—
‘‘(i) the Secretary determines that a State plan
under section 454 would (in the absence of this
paragraph) be disapproved for the failure of the
State to comply with section 454(24)(A), and that
the State has made and is continuing to make a
good faith effort to so comply; and
‘‘(ii) the State has submitted to the Secretary
a corrective compliance plan that describes how, by
when, and at what cost the State will achieve such
compliance, which has been approved by the Sec-
retary,
then the Secretary shall not disapprove the State plan
under section 454, and the Secretary shall reduce the
amount otherwise payable to the State under paragraph
(1)(A) of this subsection for the fiscal year by the penalty
amount.
‘‘(B) In this paragraph:
‘‘(i) The term ‘penalty amount’ means, with re-
spect to a failure of a State to comply with section
454(24)—
‘‘(I) 4 percent of the penalty base, in the
case of the 1st fiscal year in which such a fail-
ure by the State occurs;
‘‘(II) 8 percent of the penalty base, in the
case of the 2nd such fiscal year;
‘‘(III) 16 percent of the penalty base, in
the case of the 3rd such fiscal year; or
‘‘(IV) 20 percent of the penalty base, in
the case of the 4th or any subsequent such fis-
cal year.
‘‘(ii) The term ‘penalty base’ means, with re-
spect to a failure of a State to comply with section
454(24) during a fiscal year, the amount otherwise
payable to the State under paragraph (1)(A) of this
subsection for the preceding fiscal year.
‘‘(C)(i) The Secretary shall waive a penalty under
this paragraph for any failure of a State to comply with
section 454(24)(A) during fiscal year 1998 if—
‘‘(I) by December 31, 1997, the State has sub-
mitted to the Secretary a request that the Secretary
certify the State as having met the requirements of
such section;
‘‘(II) the Secretary has provided the certifi-
cation as a result of a review conducted pursuant to
the request; and
‘‘(III) the State has not failed such a review.
‘‘(ii) If a State with respect to which a reduction is
made under this paragraph for a fiscal year achieves com-
pliance with section 454(24)(A) by the beginning of the
succeeding fiscal year, the Secretary shall increase the
amount otherwise payable to the State under paragraph
(1)(A) of this subsection for the succeeding fiscal year by
an amount equal to 75 percent of the reduction for the
fiscal year.
‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall reduce the amount of any
reduction that, in the absence of this clause, would be re-
quired to be made under this paragraph by reason of the
failure of a State to achieve compliance with section
454(24)(B) during the fiscal year, by an amount equal
to 20 percent of the amount of the otherwise required re-
duction, for each State performance measure described in
section 458A(b)(4) with respect to which the applicable
percentage under section 458A(b)(6) for the fiscal year
is 100 percent, if the Secretary has made the determina-
tion described in section 458A(b)(5)(B) with respect to the
State for the fiscal year.
‘‘(D) The preceding provisions of this paragraph (ex-
cept for subparagraph (C)(i)) shall apply, separately and
independently, to a failure to comply with section
454(24)(B) in the same manner in which the preceding
provisions apply to a failure to comply with section
454(24)(A).’’.
(b) INAPPLICABILITY OF PENALTY UNDER TANF
PROGRAM.—Section 409(a)(8)(A)(i)(III) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 609(a)(8)(A)(i)(III)) is amended by inserting
‘‘(other than section 454(24))’’ before the semicolon.
SEC. 102. AUTHORITY TO WAIVE SINGLE STATEWIDE AUTO-
MATED DATA PROCESSING AND INFORMA-
TION RETRIEVAL SYSTEM REQUIREMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 452(d)(3) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 652(d)(3)) is amended to read
as follows:
‘‘(3) The Secretary may waive any requirement of
paragraph (1) or any condition specified under section
454(16), and shall waive the single statewide system re-
quirement under sections 454(16) and 454A, with respect
to a State if—
‘‘(A) the State demonstrates to the satisfaction
of the Secretary that the State has or can develop
an alternative system or systems that enable the
State—
‘‘(i) for purposes of section 409(a)(8), to
achieve the paternity establishment percentages
(as defined in section 452(g)(2)) and other per-
formance measures that may be established by
the Secretary;
‘‘(ii) 
to 
submit 
data 
under 
section
454(15)(B) that is complete and reliable;
‘‘(iii) to substantially comply with the re-
quirements of this part; and
‘‘(iv) in the case of a request to waive the
single statewide system requirement, to—
‘‘(I) meet all functional requirements
of sections 454(16) and 454A;
‘‘(II) ensure that calculation of dis-
tributions meets the requirements of sec-
tion 457 and accounts for distributions to
children in different families or in different
States or sub-State jurisdictions, and for
distributions to other States;
‘‘(III) ensure that there is only 1
point of contact in the State which pro-
vides seamless case processing for all inter-
state case processing and coordinated,
automated intrastate case management;
‘‘(IV) ensure that standardized data
elements, forms, and definitions are used
throughout the State;
‘‘(V) complete the alternative system
in no more time than it would take to com-
plete a single statewide system that meets
such requirement; and
‘‘(VI) process child support cases as
quickly, efficiently, and effectively as such
cases would be processed through a single
statewide system that meets such require-
ment;
‘‘(B)(i) the waiver meets the criteria of para-
graphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 1115(c); or
‘‘(ii) the State provides assurances to the Sec-
retary that steps will be taken to otherwise improve
the State’s child support enforcement program; and
‘‘(C) in the case of a request to waive the single
statewide system requirement, the State has submit-
ted to the Secretary separate estimates of the total
cost of a single statewide system that meets such re-
quirement, and of any such alternative system or
systems, which shall include estimates of the cost of
developing and completing the system and of operat-
ing and maintaining the system for 5 years, and the
Secretary has agreed with the estimates.’’.
(b) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—Section 455(a)(1) of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(1)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (B);
(2) by striking the semicolon at the end of sub-
paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(D) equal to 66 percent of the sums expended
by the State during the quarter for an alternative
statewide system for which a waiver has been grant-
ed under section 452(d)(3), but only to the extent
that the total of the sums so expended by the State
on or after the date of the enactment of this sub-
paragraph does not exceed the least total cost esti-
mate submitted by the State pursuant to section
452(d)(3)(C) in the request for the waiver;’’.
TITLE II—CHILD SUPPORT
INCENTIVE SYSTEM
SEC. 201. INCENTIVE PAYMENTS TO STATES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part D of title IV of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 651–669) is amended by inserting
after section 458 the following:
‘‘SEC. 458A. INCENTIVE PAYMENTS TO STATES.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other pay-
ment under this part, the Secretary shall, subject to sub-
section (f), make an incentive payment to each State for
each fiscal year in an amount determined under subsection
(b).
‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF INCENTIVE PAYMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The incentive payment for
a State for a fiscal year is equal to the incentive
payment pool for the fiscal year, multiplied by the
State incentive payment share for the fiscal year.
‘‘(2) INCENTIVE PAYMENT POOL.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In paragraph (1), the
term ‘incentive payment pool’ means—
‘‘(i) $422,000,000 for fiscal year
2000;
‘‘(ii) $429,000,000 for fiscal year
2001;
‘‘(iii) $450,000,000 for fiscal year
2002;
‘‘(iv) $461,000,000 for fiscal year
2003;
‘‘(v) $454,000,000 for fiscal year
2004;
‘‘(vi) $446,000,000 for fiscal year
2005;
‘‘(vii) $458,000,000 for fiscal year
2006;
‘‘(viii) $471,000,000 for fiscal year
2007;
‘‘(ix) $483,000,000 for fiscal year
2008; and
‘‘(x) for any succeeding fiscal year,
the amount of the incentive payment pool
for the fiscal year that precedes such suc-
ceeding fiscal year, multiplied by the per-
centage (if any) by which the CPI for such
preceding fiscal year exceeds the CPI for
the 2nd preceding fiscal year.
‘‘(B) CPI.—For purposes of subparagraph
(A), the CPI for a fiscal year is the average of
the Consumer Price Index for the 12-month pe-
riod ending on September 30 of the fiscal year.
As used in the preceding sentence, the term
‘Consumer Price Index’ means the last Con-
sumer Price Index for all-urban consumers pub-
lished by the Department of Labor.
‘‘(3) STATE INCENTIVE PAYMENT SHARE.—In
paragraph (1), the term ‘State incentive payment
share’ means, with respect to a fiscal year—
‘‘(A) the incentive base amount for the
State for the fiscal year; divided by
‘‘(B) the sum of the incentive base
amounts for all of the States for the fiscal year.
‘‘(4) INCENTIVE BASE AMOUNT.—In paragraph
(3), the term ‘incentive base amount’ means, with
respect to a State and a fiscal year, the sum of the
applicable percentages (determined in accordance
with paragraph (6)) multiplied by the corresponding
maximum incentive base amounts for the State for
the fiscal year, with respect to each of the following
measures of State performance for the fiscal year:
‘‘(A) The paternity establishment perform-
ance level.
‘‘(B) The support order performance level.
‘‘(C) The current payment performance
level.
‘‘(D) The arrearage payment performance
level.
‘‘(E) The cost-effectiveness performance
level.
‘‘(5) MAXIMUM INCENTIVE BASE AMOUNT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para-
graph (4), the maximum incentive base amount
for a State for a fiscal year is—
‘‘(i) with respect to the performance
measures described in subparagraphs (A),
(B), and (C) of paragraph (4), the State
collections base for the fiscal year; and
‘‘(ii) with respect to the performance
measures described in subparagraphs (D)
and (E) of paragraph (4), 75 percent of
the State collections base for the fiscal
year.
‘‘(B) DATA REQUIRED TO BE COMPLETE
AND
RELIABLE.—Notwithstanding 
subpara-
graph (A), the maximum incentive base amount
for a State for a fiscal year with respect to a
performance measure described in paragraph
(4) is zero, unless the Secretary determines, on
the basis of an audit performed under section
452(a)(4)(C)(i), that the data which the State
submitted pursuant to section 454(15)(B) for
the fiscal year and which is used to determine
the performance level involved is complete and
reliable.
‘‘(C) STATE
COLLECTIONS
BASE.—For
purposes of subparagraph (A), the State collec-
tions base for a fiscal year is equal to the sum
of—
‘‘(i) 2 times the sum of—
‘‘(I) the total amount of support
collected during the fiscal year under
the State plan approved under this
part in cases in which the support ob-
ligation involved is required to be as-
signed to the State pursuant to part
A or E of this title or title XIX; and
‘‘(II) the total amount of support
collected during the fiscal year under
the State plan approved under this
part in cases in which the support ob-
ligation involved was so assigned but,
at the time of collection, is not re-
quired to be so assigned; and
‘‘(ii) the total amount of support col-
lected during the fiscal year under the
State plan approved under this part in all
other cases.
‘‘(6) DETERMINATION
OF
APPLICABLE
PER-
CENTAGES BASED ON PERFORMANCE LEVELS.—
‘‘(A) PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(i) DETERMINATION OF PATERNITY
ESTABLISHMENT PERFORMANCE LEVEL.—
The paternity establishment performance
level for a State for a fiscal year is, at the
option of the State, the IV–D paternity es-
tablishment percentage determined under
section 452(g)(2)(A) or the statewide pa-
ternity establishment percentage deter-
mined under section 452(g)(2)(B).
‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION OF APPLICABLE
PERCENTAGE.—The applicable percentage
with respect to a State’s paternity estab-
lishment performance level is as follows:
‘‘If the paternity establishment
performance level is:
The applicable
percentage is:
At least:
But less than:
80% .....................
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100
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