This paper examines the Child Support Distribution Act, introduced in the U.S. House as H.R. 4678 in 2000 and in the Senate as S. 918 in 2001. It outlines the bill's primary provisions, including redistributing child support payments to prioritize mothers and children over state reimbursement, funding skills-training programs for low-income fathers, and promoting marriage. The paper traces the bill's legislative history from its bipartisan House passage to its stalling in the Senate Committee on Finance, discusses the main points of opposition regarding church-state separation and privacy rights, and evaluates feminist critiques raised by the National Organization for Women. The paper concludes by assessing the bill's prospects for future Senate consideration.
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The Child Support Distribution Act of 2000 (H.R. 4678) overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives on September 7, 2000, by a vote of 405 to 18. A similar measure, the Child Support Distribution Act of 2001 (S. 918), was introduced in the Senate's 107th session but never came to a floor debate.
The need for better enforcement of child support laws was evident in a recent survey showing that fewer than one-fifth of inner-city children born to single teenage mothers receive child support from their fathers. In fact, half of these children never see their fathers at all. Many fathers are unable to provide support because they are unemployed and lack marketable skills. As a result, a great majority of these teenage mothers depend on welfare to support their children (Moore).
The Child Support Distribution Act seeks to address these problems — the factors that hinder a parent's ability to provide adequate child support and that make children wards of the state. First, it provides more monetary child support to families leaving welfare. Through reforms in welfare disbursement and public assistance, the bill would distribute more than $1 billion per year in additional child support to low-income custodial parents, usually mothers. Indigent non-custodial parents — usually fathers — would also benefit from programs helping them support and raise their own children. In addition, the bill specifically promotes marriage through programs such as marriage counseling and similar services.
Under current law, a mother who applies for welfare automatically assigns the state the right to collect child support on her behalf. The state is able to use techniques such as intercepting tax refunds to collect child support owed. However, any money collected from the father is first applied to repay this "debt" to the state — the amount the mother received from welfare.
The Child Support Distribution Act changes this provision. If a mother leaves welfare, she and her children have first claim on all child support paid by the father. By providing mothers with this monetary priority, the bill attempts to help single-parent families stay off welfare during periods of economic vulnerability ("House Okays Bill to Send Child Support to Parents").
Current rules also prohibit single mothers and children from receiving child support payments if they are already receiving cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. If any payments are made under these conditions, the government retains the money and the children receive no benefit. This rule bars children and their families from receiving potentially large amounts of much-needed support. In 1998, states collected $2.6 billion in child support for families receiving TANF; however, only $282 million was passed along to the families and children for whom it was intended. To address this inequity, the Child Support Distribution Act prioritizes the needs of mothers and children over the need to reimburse state governments for welfare expenses.
The bill also includes provisions to provide skills training for fathers. Because many fathers fail to meet child support obligations for economic reasons, the bill sets aside grants to institutions that provide indigent fathers with these programs ("House Okays Bill to Send Child Support to Parents").
In summary, the bill proposes a number of provisions beneficial to low-income children, families, and non-custodial fathers. Provisions promoting responsible fatherhood would help poorly employed and unskilled fathers improve their ability to provide for their children. Key changes would also redirect child support payments to prioritize mothers and children over state reimbursement. In general, the bill is an investment in children: it aims to reduce child poverty, helps fathers develop stronger bonds with their children, and should facilitate child support enforcement. States would be able to incorporate child support collection and distribution strategies into their existing welfare reform programs.
The original Child Support Distribution Act (H.R. 4678) was introduced by Rep. Nancy L. Johnson (R-Conn.) on June 15, 2000, during the 106th session of Congress, with Representatives Phil English, Dave Camp, and Marge Roukema as co-sponsors. H.R. 4678 had strong bipartisan support and was passed on September 7, 2000. It was referred to the Senate the following day. Then-President William J. Clinton commended the House's passage of the bill and recommended that the Senate take up the legislation (Clinton).
H.R. 4678's passage was marked by disagreements over provisions relating to the privatization of child support collection and to issues of privacy. After its introduction, the bill was referred to several committees, including the Committee on Ways and Means, the Subcommittee on Human Resources, the House Judiciary Committee, the Subcommittee on Immigration, and the Committee on Education and the Workforce. The bill was placed on Union Calendar 459 and debated on the House floor on September 7, 2000.
"Church-state and privacy objections to the bill"
"S. 918 introduced but never debated in Senate"
"NOW's warnings about custody and women's rights"
Erickson, Jan. "Child Support Linked with Fathers' Rights Bill." National NOW Times; Washington; Winter 2001: 11.
"House Okays Bill to Send Child Support to Parents." Chicago Tribune, 8 September 2000: 12.
Moore, Melissa. "Children of Young Disadvantaged Women Are Unlikely to Receive Consistent Support from Their Fathers." Family Planning Perspectives; New York; Nov./Dec. 1998: 291–292.
United States. Cong. House of Representatives. 107th Congress. H.R. 4678. Child Support Distribution Act of 2001. [Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives; 1 May 2001]. Thomas Federal Legislation Database, 106th Congress. Viewed 20 November 2002.
United States. Cong. Senate. 107th Congress. S. 918. Child Support Distribution Act of 2001. [Introduced in the U.S. Senate; 8 September 2001]. Thomas Federal Legislation Database, 106th Congress. Viewed 20 November 2002.
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