[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 12, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5233-S5234]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 985. Mrs. MURRAY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
her to the bill H.R. 2810, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2018 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of part II of subtitle C of title VI, add the 
     following:

     SEC. ___. GARNISHMENT TO SATISFY JUDGMENT RENDERED FOR 
                   PHYSICALLY, SEXUALLY, OR EMOTIONALLY ABUSING A 
                   CHILD.

       (a) Garnishment Authority.--Section 1408 of title 10, 
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(l) Garnishment to Satisfy a Judgment Rendered for 
     Physically, Sexually, or Emotionally Abusing a Child.--(1) 
     Subject to paragraph (2), any payment of retired pay that 
     would otherwise be made to a member

[[Page S5234]]

     shall be paid (in whole or in part) by the Secretary 
     concerned to another person if and to the extent expressly 
     provided for in the terms of a child abuse garnishment order.
       ``(2) A court order providing for the payment of child 
     support or alimony or, with respect to a division of 
     property, specifically providing for the payment of an amount 
     of the disposable retired pay from a member to the spouse or 
     a former spouse of the member, shall be given priority over a 
     child abuse garnishment order. The total amount of the 
     disposable retired pay of a member payable under a child 
     abuse garnishment order shall not exceed 25 percent of the 
     member's disposable retired pay.
       ``(3) In this subsection, the term `court order' includes a 
     child abuse garnishment order.
       ``(4) In this subsection, the term `child abuse garnishment 
     order' means a final decree issued by a court that--
       ``(A) is issued in accordance with the laws of the 
     jurisdiction of that court; and
       ``(B) provides in the nature of garnishment for the 
     enforcement of a judgment rendered against the member for 
     physically, sexually, or emotionally abusing a child.
       ``(5) For purposes of this subsection, a judgment rendered 
     for physically, sexually, or emotionally abusing a child is 
     any legal claim perfected through a final enforceable 
     judgment, which claim is based in whole or in part upon the 
     physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of an individual under 
     18 years of age, whether or not that abuse is accompanied by 
     other actionable wrongdoing, such as sexual exploitation or 
     gross negligence.
       ``(6) If the Secretary concerned is served with more than 
     one court order with respect to the retired pay of a member, 
     the disposable retired pay of the member shall be available 
     to satisfy such court orders on a first-come, first-served 
     basis, subject to the order of precedence specified in 
     paragraph (2), with any such process being satisfied out of 
     such monies as remain after the satisfaction of all such 
     processes which have been previously served.
       ``(7) The Secretary concerned shall not be required to vary 
     normal pay and disbursement cycles for retired pay in order 
     to comply with a child abuse garnishment order.''.
       (b) Application of Amendment.--Subsection (l) of section 
     1408 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection 
     (a), shall apply with respect to a court order received by 
     the Secretary concerned on or after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act, regardless of the date of the court order.
                                 ______