[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3694 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3694

 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 abusing a child.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 22, 1993

 Mrs. Schroeder (for herself, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Kennedy) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Post Office 
                           and Civil Service

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 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 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 abusing a child.
Any payment under this paragraph to a person bars recovery by any other 
person. 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 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 abuse of a child, whether or not that 
        physical abuse is accompanied by other actionable wrongdoing, 
        such as sexual exploitation, gross negligence, or emotional 
        abuse; 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:
    ``(j) 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 abusing a child.
Any payment under this subsection to a person bars recovery by any 
other person. 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 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 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 abuse of a child, whether or not that 
        physical abuse is accompanied by other actionable wrongdoing, 
        such as sexual exploitation, gross negligence, or emotional 
        abuse; and
            ``(2) the term `child' means an individual under 18 years 
        of age.''.

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 on or after such date of enactment.

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