[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 916 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 916
To provide more child support money to families leaving welfare, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 21, 2001
Mr. Kohl (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Graham, Mr. Johnson,
Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Breaux, and Mrs. Lincoln)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide more child support money to families leaving welfare, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Children First
Child Support Reform Act of 2001''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Modification of rule requiring assignment of support rights as
a condition of receiving TANF.
Sec. 3. Increasing child support payments to families and simplifying
child support distribution rules.
Sec. 4. State option to discontinue certain support assignments.
Sec. 5. Effective date.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF RULE REQUIRING ASSIGNMENT OF SUPPORT RIGHTS AS
A CONDITION OF RECEIVING TANF.
Section 408(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)(3))
is amended to read as follows:
``(3) No assistance for families not assigning certain
support rights to the state.--A State to which a grant is made
under section 403 shall require, as a condition of paying
assistance to a family under the State program funded under
this part, that a member of the family assign to the State any
rights the family member may have (on behalf of the family
member or of any other person for whom the family member has
applied for or is receiving such assistance) to support from
any other person, not exceeding the total amount of assistance
so paid to the family, which accrues during the period that the
family receives assistance under the program.''.
SEC. 3. INCREASING CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS TO FAMILIES AND SIMPLIFYING
CHILD SUPPORT DISTRIBUTION RULES.
(a) Distribution Rules.--
(1) In general.--Section 457(a) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 657(a)) is amended to read as follows:
``(a) In General.--Subject to subsections (e) and (f), the amounts
collected on behalf of a family as support by a State under a plan
approved under this part shall be distributed as follows:
``(1) Families receiving assistance.--In the case of a
family receiving assistance from the State, the State shall--
``(A) pay to the Federal Government the Federal
share of the amount collected, subject to paragraph
(3)(A);
``(B) retain, or pay to the family, the State share
of the amount collected, subject to paragraph (3)(B);
and
``(C) pay to the family any remaining amount.
``(2) Families that formerly received assistance.--In the
case of a family that formerly received assistance from the
State:
``(A) Current support.--To the extent that the
amount collected does not exceed the current support
amount, the State shall pay the amount to the family.
``(B) Arrearages.--Except as otherwise provided in
the State plan approved under section 454, to the
extent that the amount collected exceeds the current
support amount, the State--
``(i) shall first pay to the family the
excess amount, to the extent necessary to
satisfy support arrearages not assigned under
section 408(a)(3);
``(ii) if the amount collected exceeds the
amount required to be paid to the family under
clause (i), shall--
``(I) pay to the Federal
Government, the Federal share of the
excess amount described in this clause,
subject to paragraph (3)(A); and
``(II) retain, or pay to the
family, the State share of the excess
amount described in this clause,
subject to paragraph (3)(B); and
``(iii) shall pay to the family any
remaining amount.
``(3) Limitations.--
``(A) Federal reimbursements.--The total of the
amounts paid by the State to the Federal Government
under paragraphs (1) and (2) with respect to a family
shall not exceed the Federal share of the amount
assigned with respect to the family under section 408(a)(3).
``(B) State reimbursements.--The total of the
amounts retained by the State under paragraphs (1) and
(2) with respect to a family shall not exceed the State
share of the amount assigned with respect to the family
under section 408(a)(3).
``(4) Families that never received assistance.--In the case
of any other family, the State shall pay the amount collected
to the family.
``(5) Families under certain agreements.--Notwithstanding
paragraphs (1) through (4), in the case of an amount collected
for a family in accordance with a cooperative agreement under
section 454(33), the State shall distribute the amount
collected under the terms of the agreement.
``(6) State financing options.--To the extent that the
State share of the amount payable to a family under paragraph
(2)(B) exceeds the amount that the State estimates (under
procedures approved by the Secretary) would have been payable
to the family under former section 457(a)(2)(B) (as in effect
for the State immediately before the date on which this
subsection, as amended by the Children First Child Support
Reform Act of 2001, first applies to the State) if such former
section had remained in effect, the State may elect to use the
grant made to the State under section 403(a) to pay the amount,
or to have the payment considered a qualified State expenditure
for purposes of section 409(a)(7), but not both.
``(7) State option to pass through additional support with
federal financial participation.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraphs (1)
and (2), a State shall not be required to pay to the
Federal Government the Federal share of an amount
collected on behalf of a family that is not a recipient
of assistance under the State program funded under part
A, to the extent that the State pays the amount to the
family.
``(B) Recipients of tanf for less than 5 years.--
``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding
paragraphs (1) and (2), a State shall not be
required to pay to the Federal Government the
Federal share of an amount collected on behalf
of a family that is a recipient of assistance
under the State program funded under part A
and, if the family includes an adult, that has
received the assistance for not more than 5
years after the date of enactment of this
paragraph, to the extent that--
``(I) the State pays the amount to
the family; and
``(II) subject to clause (ii), the
amount is disregarded in determining
the amount and type of the assistance
provided to the family.
``(ii) Limitation.--Of the amount
disregarded as described in clause (i)(II), the
maximum amount that may be taken into account
for purposes of clause (i) shall not exceed
$400 per month, except that, in the case of a
family that includes 2 or more children, the
State may elect to increase the maximum amount
to not more than $600 per month.
``(8) States with demonstration waivers.--Notwithstanding
the preceding paragraphs, a State with a waiver under section
1115 that became effective on or before October 1, 1997, the
terms of which allow passthrough of child support payments, may
pass through such payments in accordance with such terms with respect
to families subject to the waiver.''.
(2) State plan to include election as to which rules to
apply in distributing child support arrearages collected on
behalf of families formerly receiving assistance.--Section 454
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 654) is amended--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph
(32);
(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(33) and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (33) the
following:
``(34) include an election by the State to apply section
457(a)(2)(B) or former section 457(a)(2)(B) (as in effect for
the State immediately before the date this paragraph, as
amended by the Children First Child Support Reform Act of 2001,
first applies to the State) to the distribution of the amounts
which are the subject of such sections, and for so long as the
State elects to so apply such former section, the amendments
made by section 2 of the Children First Child Support Reform
Act of 2001 shall not apply with respect to the State,
notwithstanding section 6(a) of such Act.''.
(3) Approval of estimation procedures.--Not later than
October 1, 2002, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in
consultation with the States (as defined for purposes of part D
of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 651 et
seq.)), shall establish the procedures to be used to make the
estimate described in section 457(a)(6) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
657(a)(6)).
(b) Current Support Amount Defined.--Section 457(c) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 657(c)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(5) Current support amount.--The term `current support
amount' means, with respect to amounts collected as support on
behalf of a family, the amount designated as the monthly
support obligation of the noncustodial parent in the order
requiring the support.''.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 404(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
604(a)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (1);
(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(2) and inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) to fund payment of an amount under section
457(a)(2)(B), but only to the extent that the State properly
elects under section 457(a)(6) to use the grant to fund the
payment.''.
(2) Section 409(a)(7)(B)(i) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 609(a)(7)(B)(i)) is amended--
(A) in subclause (I)(aa), by striking
``457(a)(1)(B)'' and inserting ``457(a)(1)''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(V) Portions of certain child
support payments collected on behalf of
and distributed to families no longer
receiving assistance.--Any amount paid
by a State under section 457(a)(2)(B),
but only to the extent that the State
properly elects under section 457(a)(6)
to have the payment considered a
qualified State expenditure.''.
SEC. 4. STATE OPTION TO DISCONTINUE CERTAIN SUPPORT ASSIGNMENTS.
Section 457(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 657(b)) is
amended by striking ``shall'' and inserting ``may''.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) In General.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on October 1, 2005, and shall apply to payments under parts A
and D of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq. and
651 et seq.) for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, and
without regard to whether regulations to implement the amendments (in
the case of State programs operated under such part D) are promulgated
by such date.
(b) State Option To Accelerate Effective Date.--In addition, a
State may elect to have the amendments made by section 2 or 3 apply to
the State and to amounts collected by the State, on and after such date
as the State may select that is after the date of enactment of this
Act, by including an election to that effect in the State plan under
part D of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.).
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