[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H1028]]
CALLING FOR INCLUSION OF NATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT IN WELFARE 
                                 REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Martinez] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call for the inclusion of 
a national child support enforcement program in any welfare reform 
proposal considered by this body.
  Raising a family is no easy task. I don't think anyone here today 
would say differently. Parenting requires time, patience, sacrifice, 
love, and of course, money. And according to 1992 statistics, over 8\1/
2\ million women are raising families alone.
  Considering all that being a parent requires, it should come as no 
surprise that many of these women require assistance--assistance from 
friends, family, and from the Federal Government. For instance, of 
those 8\1/2\ million women currently raising families alone, over 3 
million collect welfare. They collect welfare in order to provide their 
children with the food, shelter, clothing, and medical care they need 
to survive.
  It's no secret that welfare costs the Federal Government a lot of 
money. As a matter of fact, it costs nearly $86 billion every year. 
It's also no secret that the Federal Government is looking for ways to 
decrease that amount.
  Let's discuss the Personal Responsibility Act, the welfare reform 
proposal included in the Republican Contract With America. The proposal 
calls for all Americans to take charge of their lives and assume 
responsibility for themselves. Specifically, it calls for young mothers 
to give up their children and go to work. It calls for children to live 
away from their homes and their families. The bottom line is it calls 
for both mothers and children to get off welfare.
  While this idea seems well and good, a particular and critical 
segment of the population is consistently absent from the picture and 
from the Personal Responsibility Act--the fathers. Where is it 
mentioned in the Personal Responsibility Act that fathers must provide 
for their children? Where does it say fathers need to go to work and 
contribute to their children's financial needs? Indeed, I see no 
reference to fathers in this proposal at all.
  Did 8\1/2\ million women impregnate themselves? As far as I am aware, 
the last time a woman found herself with child without any help from 
the opposite sex was in the year 4 B.C.
  So, if we agree that women cannot get pregnant alone, why should we 
insist that they alone take responsibility for the children that 
result. Why should the fathers be let off scot-free? The truth of the 
matter is, they shouldn't. And for several decades the Federal 
Government has helped ensure that fathers take responsibility for their 
children.
  The child support enforcement program, established in 1975, helps 
millions of mothers every year identify, and collect child support from 
the fathers of their children. In 1993, the child support enforcement 
program collected $8.9 billion in child support from delinquent fathers 
through income withholding, income tax refund interception, property 
liens, and security bonds. That's $8.9 billion that didn't come from 
the Federal budget. And that's only the beginning.
  Because tracking and collection across State lines is so difficult, 
$34 billion in potential child support is not collected each year. If 
we could establish a national program to work with State and local 
agencies to track and collect child support from delinquent fathers we 
could further take the responsibility off the Federal Government and 
put it where it belongs--on the parents--both parents.
  Look, no government or government agency, be it Federal, State, or 
local can ensure that both parents provide their children with love and 
emotional support. No government can insist that both parents spend 
time with their children. However, the government, Federal, State, and 
local, can, by working together, ensure that both parents at the very 
least, fulfill their financial obligations to their children.
  If we really want all Americans to take responsibility for themselves 
lets make sure we are talking about all Americans. Make fathers 
accountable. Make child support enforcement part of welfare reform.


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