[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 4, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
       CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5140) to provide for improved procedures for the enforcement 
of child support obligations of members of the Armed Forces.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5140

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

     SECTION 1. ENFORCEMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS OF 
                   MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

       (a) Availability of Locator Information.--
       (1) Maintenance of address information.--The Secretary of 
     Defense shall establish a centralized personnel locator 
     service that includes the address of each member of the Armed 
     Forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary. Upon request 
     of the Secretary of Transportation, addresses for members of 
     the Coast Guard shall be included in the centralized 
     personnel locator service.
       (2) Type of address.--
       (A) Residential address.--Except as provided in 
     subparagraph (B), the address for a member of the Armed 
     Forces shown in the locator service shall be the residential 
     address of that member.
       (B) Duty address.--The address for a member of the Armed 
     Forces shown in the locator service shall be the duty address 
     of that member in the case of a member--
       (i) who is permanently assigned overseas, to a vessel, or 
     to a routinely deployable unit; or
       (ii) with respect to whom the Secretary concerned makes a 
     determination that the member's residential address should 
     not be disclosed due to national security or safety concerns.
       (3) Updating of locator information.--Within 30 days after 
     a member listed in the locator service establishes a new 
     residential address (or a new duty address, in the case of a 
     member covered by paragraph (2)(B)), the Secretary concerned 
     shall update the locator service to indicate the new address 
     of the member.
       (4) Availability of information.--The Secretary of Defense 
     shall make information regarding the address of a member of 
     the Armed Forces listed in the locator service available, on 
     request, to the Federal Parent Locator Service.
       (b) Facilitating Granting of Leave for Attendance at 
     Hearings.--
       (1) Regulations.--The Secretary of each military 
     department, and the Secretary of Transportation with respect 
     to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in 
     the Navy, shall prescribe regulations to facilitate the 
     granting of leave to a member of the Armed Forces under the 
     jurisdiction of that Secretary in a case in which--
       (A) the leave is needed for the member to attend a court 
     hearing described in paragraph (2);
       (B) the member is not serving in or with a unit deployed in 
     a contingency operation (as defined in section 101 of title 
     10, United States Code); and
       (C) the exigencies of military service (as determined by 
     the Secretary concerned) do not otherwise require that such 
     leave not be granted.
       (2) Covered court hearings.--Paragraph (1) applies to a 
     court hearing that is conducted in connection with a civil 
     action--
       (A) to determine whether a member of the Armed Forces is a 
     natural parent of a child; or
       (B) to determine an obligation of a member of the Armed 
     Forces to provide child support.
       (3) Definitions.--for purposes of this subsection:
       (A) The term ``court'' has the meaning given that term in 
     section 1408(a) of title 10, United States Code.
       (B) The term ``Child support'' has the meaning given such 
     term in section 462 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
     662).
       (c) Payment of Military Retired Pay in Compliance With 
     Court Orders.--
       (1) Date of certification of court order.--Section 1408 of 
     title 10, United States Code, is amended--
       (A) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection (j); and
       (B) by inserting after subsection (h) the following new 
     subsection (i):
       ``(i) Certification Date.--It is not necessary that the 
     date of a certification of the authenticity or completeness 
     of a copy of a court order for child support received by the 
     Secretary concerned for the purposes of this section be 
     recent in relation to the date of receipt by the 
     Secretary.''.
       (2) Payments consistent with assignments of rights to 
     states.--Subsection (d)(1) of such section is amended by 
     inserting after the first sentence the following: ``In the 
     case of a spouse or former spouse who, pursuant to section 
     402(a)(26) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 602(26)), 
     assigns to a State the rights of the spouse or former spouse 
     to receive support, the Secretary concerned may make the 
     child support payments referred to in the preceding sentence 
     to that State in amounts consistent with that assignment of 
     rights.''.
       (3) Arrearages owed by members of the uniformed services.--
     Section 1408(d) of title 10, United States Code, is amended 
     by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(6) In the case of a court order for which effective 
     service is made on the Secretary concerned on or after the 
     date of the enactment of this paragraph and which provides 
     for payments from the disposable retired pay of a member to 
     satisfy the amount of child support set forth in the court 
     order, the authority provided in paragraph (1) to make 
     payments from the disposal retired pay of a member to satisfy 
     the amount of child support set forth in a court order shall 
     apply to payment of any amount of child support arrearages 
     set forth in that court order as well as to amounts of child 
     support that currently become due.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Missouri [Mr. Skelton] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Gekas] will be recognized for 20 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Skelton].


                             general leave

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
on the bill now under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation represents the Department of Defense 
portion of H.R. 4570, the Child Support Responsibility Act of 1994, as 
was reported out of the Military Forces and Personnel Subcommittee by 
unanimous voice vote on September 29, 1994. H.R. 5140 would require the 
Secretary of Defense to establish and maintain a centralized personnel 
locator containing the residential addresses of each member of the 
Armed Forces and provide that information, upon request, to the Federal 
Parent Locator Service. This legislation would also require the service 
Secretaries to issue regulations to facilitate the granting of leave 
for military members to attend court proceedings pertaining to child 
support or the establishment of paternity. Finally, this legislation 
would expedite and simplify the process for establishing automatic 
payments of court-ordered child support and arranges in child support 
out of military retired pay.
  This legislation has strong bipartisan support and takes much-needed 
positive steps in strengthening the child support enforcement 
mechanisms for members of our Armed Forces. Therefore, I urge my 
colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a natural follow-up to the legislation we just 
finished, this one having the unique effect of affecting children in 
the military.
  Mr. Speaker, I have here an assertion that the Republican members, 
the minority members of the Committee on Armed Services, favor passage 
of this legislation.
  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chairman for allowing this 
child support enforcement provision to be brought before us in such a 
timely manner. I would like to clarify a few things for the record.
  In June, the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues introduced the 
Child Support Responsibility Act, which is based on the 1992 
recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Interstate Child Support. The 
caucus had hoped that the issue of child support enforcement could be 
dealt with in this Congress. Our legislation is about making certain 
that the Federal Government does everything in its power for the 
millions of children financially neglected by absent parents. If we 
commit the needed resources to tackle this problem, we may save close 
to $34 billion dollars annually. We were able to gain the support of 
the House leadership and the various committee chairs to move a bill 
separate from welfare reform, time has simply run out to do a 
comprehensive child support bill.
  We appreciate the work of the Armed Services Committee and moving 
their child support enforcement provisions to the floor. The caucus 
child support bill is so comprehensive that it was referred to seven 
committees and Armed Services is the first to bring provisions to the 
floor.
  The Chairman has explained what the bill does, however, I would like 
to note once again one very significant provision, the central locator 
service. Many of us know that locating absent parents is one of the 
biggest obstacles in collecting the billions of child supports dollars. 
This bill requires the Secretary of Defense to establish a central 
personnel locator which would contain the residential address of 
military personnel. This would make it easier for the Federal parent 
locator service to work with the Department of Defense in locating 
absent parents. Once the parent has been located, the Department of 
Defense has a policy of cooperating as fully as possible in child 
support procedures.
  This Armed Services measure is a vital step towards addressing a 
national problem which is becoming a national disgrace. It is only one 
of the recommendations made to Congress almost 3 years ago. At the 
beginning of the next Congress, we will ask that child support 
legislation be one of the first issues brought up for consideration. We 
must take action on the remaining recommendations pertaining to 
paternity establishment, enforcement mechanisms, and providing Federal 
leadership in this area.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5140, legislation 
designed to provide for improved procedures for the enforcement of 
child support obligations of members of the Armed Forces. H.R. 5140 
passed out of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Forces and 
Personnel with unanimous support and is supported by the Defense 
Department.
  Unfortunately, the statistics on child support establishment and 
collection within our Armed Forces are not encouraging. A 1993 Health 
and Human Services inspector general report identified 42,000 military 
personnel who are in arrears on their child support payments. These 
payments totaled over $176 million.
  The report also found that States do not collect child support 
payments in more than half of the sample cases investigated by the 
Office of Audit Services. Projected national savings to the AFDC and 
Medicaid programs, if court orders for child support were established 
and/or enforced in these cases, totaled $54.1 million.
  The national picture of child support enforcement, as well as the 
picture in Arizona specifically, is just as discouraging as what the 
military statistics suggest. It is apparent at this late date that the 
Congress will not pass comprehensive welfare and child support reform 
legislation during the 103d Congress. This should be a priority for the 
Congress when it returns for the 104th Congress.
  Today, however, we can make a difference in child support collection 
in the military by passing H.R. 5140. H.R. 5140 will make a difference 
for those children who need and deserve the financial support of a 
noncustodial parent but are not getting it. And, H.R. 5140 will make a 
difference for the parents out there who are trying to get the 
financial support they need from a spouse or former spouse in order to 
take care of a child.
  H.R. 5140 is modeled for the most part after recommendations made by 
the U.S. Commission on Interstate Child Support. That commission was 
established in 1988 to make recommendations on improvements in the 
establishment and enforcement of child support awards.
  The first provision of the bill requires the secretary of Defense to 
establish a centralized personnel locator containing the residential 
address of each member of the Armed Forces, and upon request, provide 
those addresses to the Federal Parent Locator Service. Duty addresses 
can be maintained in the locator in those cases where members are 
assigned overseas. Records will be updated every 30 days.
  Currently, each service only keeps records of the duty addresses of 
those who owe child support and each service keeps them separately. The 
establishment of a centralized locator system will expedite the process 
of finding a member of the Armed Forces in order to either establish or 
collect child support. Including the names of military personnel 
stationed overseas in the locator will improve the particularly high 
hurdles that the Commission on Child Support has indicated parents must 
overcome in order to collect child support from non-custodial parents 
who are living overseas.
  The next provision requires service secretaries to issue regulations 
to facilitate the granting of leave to members of the Armed Services 
when it is necessary for the member to attend civil court proceedings 
connected with the establishment or enforcement of child support. The 
issuance of these leave regulations is one of the Child Support 
Commission's specific policy recommendations.
  The last provision of this bill amends title 10 to make it easier to 
collect court ordered child support from retired military pay. It 
clarifies that child support should be paid out of military retired pay 
for as long as an already-established court order is still valid. The 
bill also clarifies that when a spouse of former spouse of a military 
retiree receives State assistance such as Aid to Families with 
Dependent Children, a service secretary should make court-ordered 
payments out of the retiree's military retired pay to the state.
  Mr. Speaker, I know this bill is one small step. However, if it 
represents even one small link in an overall effort by the Congress, 
States, and individuals to foster a sense of responsibility among 
parents, and particularly noncustodial parens--mostly fathers--to own 
up to their responsibilities, I am glad to be a part of the effort.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5140.
  Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Armed Services 
Committee, I commend Military Forces and Personnel Subcommittee 
Chairman Skelton for marking up the Child Support Responsibility Act 
and introducing it as separate legislation, taking an important first 
step in passing comprehensive support legislation.
  The failure of a parent to pay child support hinders families of 
every class, race and ethnicity in the Nation. We must put an end to 
deadbeats that force families into poverty and deprive families of the 
resources they need to raise their children. Although child support is 
an important component of welfare reform, there has never been any 
reason to hold child support legislation hostage waiting for welfare 
reform.
  Starting with members of our Armed Forces is important. Unique 
difficulties remain in ensuing child support collection from service 
members, and this legislation will provide additional remedies to 
address these problems. Like all parents, service members have an 
obligation to make child support payments. This bill requires the 
Defense Department to establish a centralized personnel locator service 
containing the address of each member of the armed services, and, upon 
request, provide those addresses to the Federal Parent Locator Service. 
It also facilitates the granting of leave to members of the armed 
services to attend hearings to establish paternity or determine child 
support obligations, and facilitates the court-ordered payment of child 
support from military retired pay.
  I commend my colleagues on the Armed Service Committee for being the 
first committee to bring this legislation to a vote. My hope is that 
this piece of legislation will serve as a catalyst, and all of the 
House committees to which the legislation was referred will follow our 
lead to bring comprehensive child support legislation to the House 
floor. I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of this important piece 
of legislation.
  Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Skelton] that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5140.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________