[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3694 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.3694

                       One Hundred Third Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
 the twenty-fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-
                                  four


                                 An Act

  
 
  To amend title 5, United States Code, to permit the garnishment of an 
annuity under the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal 
Employees' Retirement System, if necessary to satisfy a judgment against 
an annuitant for physically, sexually, or emotionally abusing a child.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Child Abuse Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. GARNISHMENT AUTHORITY.

    (a) Civil Service Retirement System.--(1) Section 8345(j)(1) of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(j)(1) Payments under this subchapter which would otherwise be 
made to an employee, Member, or annuitant based on service of that 
individual shall be paid (in whole or in part) by the Office to another 
person if and to the extent expressly provided for in the terms of--
        ``(A) any court decree of divorce, annulment, or legal 
    separation, or the terms of any court order or court-approved 
    property settlement agreement incident to any court decree of 
    divorce, annulment, or legal separation; or
        ``(B) any court order or other similar process in the nature of 
    garnishment for the enforcement of a judgment rendered against such 
    employee, Member, or annuitant, for physically, sexually, or 
    emotionally abusing a child.
In the event that the Office is served with more than 1 decree, order, 
or other legal process with respect to the same moneys due or payable 
to any individual, such moneys shall be available to satisfy such 
processes on a first-come, first-served basis, with any such process 
being satisfied out of such moneys as remain after the satisfaction of 
all such processes which have been previously served.''.
    (2) Section 8345(j)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting ``other legal process,'' after ``order,''.
    (3) Section 8345(j)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows:
    ``(3) For the purpose of this subsection--
        ``(A) the term `court' means any court of any State, the 
    District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the 
    Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands, and any Indian 
    court;
        ``(B) the term `judgment rendered for physically, sexually, or 
    emotionally abusing a child' means any legal claim perfected 
    through a final enforceable judgment, which claim is based in whole 
    or in part upon the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of a 
    child, whether or not that abuse is accompanied by other actionable 
    wrongdoing, such as sexual exploitation or gross negligence; and
        ``(C) the term `child' means an individual under 18 years of 
    age.''.
    (b) Federal Employees' Retirement System.--(1) Section 8467(a) of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Payments under this chapter which would otherwise be made to 
an employee, Member, or annuitant (including an employee, Member, or 
annuitant as defined in section 8331) based on service of that 
individual shall be paid (in whole or in part) by the Office or the 
Executive Director, as the case may be, to another person if and to the 
extent expressly provided for in the terms of--
        ``(1) any court decree of divorce, annulment, or legal 
    separation, or the terms of any court order or court-approved 
    property settlement agreement incident to any court decree of 
    divorce, annulment, or legal separation; or
        ``(2) any court order or other similar process in the nature of 
    garnishment for the enforcement of a judgment rendered against such 
    employee, Member, or annuitant, for physically, sexually, or 
    emotionally abusing a child.
In the event that the Office or the Executive Director, as the case may 
be, is served with more than 1 decree, order, or other legal process 
with respect to the same moneys due or payable to any individual, such 
moneys shall be available to satisfy such processes on a first-come, 
first-served basis, with any such process being satisfied out of such 
moneys as remain after the satisfaction of all such processes which 
have been previously served.''.
    (2) Section 8467(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting ``other legal process,'' after ``order,''.
    (3) Section 8467 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) For the purpose of this section--
        ``(1) the term `judgment rendered for physically, sexually, or 
    emotionally abusing a child' means any legal claim perfected 
    through a final enforceable judgment, which claim is based in whole 
    or in part upon the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of a 
    child, whether or not that abuse is accompanied by other actionable 
    wrongdoing, such as sexual exploitation or gross negligence; and
        ``(2) the term `child' means an individual under 18 years of 
    age.''.
    (4) Section 8437(e)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by striking the period at the end of the first sentence and inserting 
the following: ``or relating to the enforcement of a judgment for 
physically, sexually, or emotionally abusing a child as provided under 
section 8467(a).''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of 
enactment of this Act, and shall apply with respect to any decree, 
order, or other legal process, or notice of agreement received by the 
Office of Personnel Management or the Executive Director of the Federal 
Retirement Thrift Investment Board on or after such date of enactment.







                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.







                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.