[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 16 (Thursday, January 26, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E188]]
                SUPPORT THE INTERSTATE CHILD SUPPORT ACT

                                 ______


                          HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 26, 1995
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to protect the 
rights of millions of children whose parents refuse to support them. 
This is a national disgrace. Our continued failure to act is eroding 
public support for helping families who most deserve our compassion. It 
is time for us to send a clear, unambiguous message: The American 
people will do what is necessary to protect our children. We will not 
let parents abandon their duty to the children they bring into the 
world.
  I am therefore joining as a cosponsor of H.R. 95, the Interstate 
Child Support Act of 1995 introduced by Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly 
of Connecticut. This bill includes a long, tough list of enforcement 
measures recommended by the U.S. Commission on Interstate Child 
Support.
  The bill would deny deadbeat parents occupational, professional, and 
business licenses, driver's licenses, and vehicle registrations. It 
would expedite the seizure of bank accounts and authorize the seizure 
of pensions, lottery winnings, and other public benefits. The bill 
would deny passports to deadbeats and deny them Federal jobs, benefits, 
loans, and loan guarantees.
  The bill would improve enforcement of child support orders across 
State lines, strengthen paternity establishment, and improve 
recordkeeping by requiring Social Security numbers of marriage 
licenses, divorce decrees, parentage decrees, and birth certificates.
  It would also set the stage for future reforms, by requiring a study 
of the feasibility of developing national child support guidelines, and 
of collecting past-due child support through the Internal Revenue 
Service. It would test alternative child support assurance strategies, 
publish information about effective approaches to increasing child 
support, and test programs providing jobs for unemployed noncustodial 
parents to enable them to pay what they owe.
  I urge my colleagues to join us in enacting the Interstate Child 
Support Act of 1995.


                          ____________________