[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 9 (Monday, March 6, 1995)]
[Pages 321-323]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 12953--Actions Required of All Executive Agencies To 
Facilitate Payment of Child Support

February 27, 1995

    Children need and deserve the emotional and financial support of 
both their parents.
    The Federal Government requires States and, through them, public and 
private employers to take actions necessary to ensure that monies in 
payment of child support obligations are withheld and transferred to the 
child's caretaker in an efficient and expeditious manner.
    The Federal Government, through its civilian employees and Uniformed 
Services members, is the Nation's largest single employer and as such 
should set an example of leadership and encouragement in ensuring that 
all children are properly supported.
    Now, Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President by the 
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including 
section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as 
follows:

    Part I--PURPOSE

    Section 101. This executive order: (a) Establishes the executive 
branch of the Federal Government, through its civilian employees and 
Uniformed Services members, as a model employer in promoting and 
facilitating the establishment and enforcement of child support.
    (b) Requires all Federal agencies, including the Uniformed Services, 
to cooperate fully in efforts to establish paternity and child support 
orders and to enforce the collection of child and medical support in all 
situations where such actions may be required.
    (c) Requires each Federal agency, including the Uniformed Services, 
to provide information to its employees and members about actions that 
they should take and services that are available to ensure that their 
children are provided the support to which they are legally entitled.

    Part 2--DEFINITIONS

    For purposes of this order:
    Sec. 201. ``Federal agency'' means any authority as defined at 5 
U.S.C. 105, including the Uniformed Services, as defined in section 202 
of this order.
    Sec. 202. ``Uniformed Services'' means the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, 
Air Force, Coast Guard, and the Commissioned Corps of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Public Health Service.
    Sec. 203. ``Child support enforcement'' means any administrative or 
judicial action by a court or administrative entity of a State necessary 
to establish paternity or establish a child support order, including a 
medical support order, and any actions necessary to enforce a child 
support or medical support order. Child support actions may be brought 
under the civil or criminal laws of a State and are not limited to 
actions brought on behalf of the State or individual by State agencies 
providing services under title IV-D of the Social Security Act, 42 
U.S.C. 651 et seq.
    Sec. 204. ``State'' means any of the fifty States, the District of 
Columbia, the territories, the possessions, and the Commonwealths of 
Puerto Rico and of the Mariana Islands.

    Part 3--IMMEDIATE ACTIONS TO ENSURE CHILDREN ARE SUPPORTED BY THEIR 
PARENTS

    Sec. 301. Wage Withholding. (a) Within 60 days from the date of this 
order, every Federal agency shall review its procedures for wage 
withholding under 42 U.S.C. 659 and implementing regulations to ensure 
that it is in full compliance with the requirements

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of that section, and shall endeavor, to the extent feasible, to process 
wage withholding actions consistent with the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 
666(b).
    (b) Beginning no later than July 1, 1995, the Director of the Office 
of Personnel Management (OPM) shall publish annually in the Federal 
Register the list of agents (and their addresses) designated to receive 
service of withholding notices for Federal employees.
    Sec. 302. Service of Legal Process. Every Federal agency shall 
assist in the service of legal process in civil actions pursuant to 
orders of courts of States to establish paternity and establish or 
enforce a support obligation by making Federal employees and members of 
the Uniformed Services stationed outside the United States available for 
the service of process. Each agency shall designate an official who 
shall be responsible for facilitating a Federal employee's or member's 
availability for service of process, regardless of the location of the 
employee's workplace or member's duty station. The OPM shall publish a 
list of these officials annually in the Federal Register, beginning no 
later than July 1, 1995.
    Sec. 303. Federal Parent Locator. Every Federal agency shall 
cooperate with the Federal Parent Locator Service, established under 42 
U.S.C. 653, by providing complete, timely and accurate information that 
will assist in locating noncustodial parents and their employers.
    Sec. 304. Crossmatch for Delinquent Obligors. (a) The master file of 
delinquent obligors that each State child support enforcement agency 
submits to the Internal Revenue Service for Federal income tax refund 
offset purposes shall be matched at least annually with the payroll or 
personnel files of Federal agencies in order to determine if there are 
any Federal employees with child support delinquencies. The list of 
matches shall be forwarded to the appropriate State child support 
enforcement agency to determine, in each instance, whether wage 
withholding or other enforcement actions should be commenced. All 
matches will be performed in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)-(u).
    (b) All Federal agencies shall inform current and prospective 
employees that crossmatches are routinely made between Federal personnel 
records and State records on individuals who owe child support, and 
inform employees how to initiate voluntary wage withholding requests.
    Sec. 305. Availability of Service. All Federal agencies shall advise 
current and prospective employees of services authorized under title IV-
D of the Social Security Act that are available through the States. At a 
minimum, information shall be provided annually to current employees 
through the Employee Assistance Program, or similar programs, and to new 
employees during routine orientation.
    Sec. 306. Report on Actions Taken. Within 90 days of the date of 
this order, all Federal agencies shall report to the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on the actions they have taken to 
comply with this order and any statutory, regulatory, and administrative 
barriers that hinder them from complying with the requirements of part 3 
of this order.

    Part 4--ADDITIONAL ACTIONS

    Sec. 401. Additional Review for the Uniformed Services. 
    (a) In addition to the requirements outlined above, the Secretary of 
the Department of Defense (DOD) will chair a task force, with 
participation by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the 
Department of Commerce, and the Department of Transportation, that shall 
conduct a full review of current policies and practices within the 
Uniformed Services to ensure that children of Uniformed Services 
personnel are provided financial and medical support in the same manner 
and within the same time frames as is mandated for all other children 
due such support. This review shall include, but not be limited to, 
issues related to withholding non-custodial parents' wages, service of 
legal process, activities to locate parents and their income and assets, 
release time to attend civil paternity and support proceedings, and 
health insurance coverage under the Civilian Health and Medical Program 
of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS). All relevant existing statutes, 
including the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act of 1940, the 
Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act, and the Tax Equity

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and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, shall be reviewed and appropriate 
legislative modifications shall be identified.
    (b) Within 180 days of the date of this order, DOD shall submit to 
OMB a report based on this review. The report shall recommend additional 
policy, regulatory and legislative changes that would improve and 
enhance the Federal Government's commitment to ensuring parental support 
for all children.
    Sec. 402. Additional Federal Agency Actions. (a) OPM and HHS shall 
jointly study and prepare recommendations concerning additional 
administrative, regulatory, and legislative improvements in the policies 
and procedures of Federal agencies affecting child support enforcement. 
Other agencies shall be included in the development of recommendations 
for specific items as appropriate. The recommendations shall address, 
among other things:
    (i) any changes that would be needed to ensure that Federal 
      employees comply with child support orders that require them to 
      provide health insurance coverage for their children;
    (ii) changes needed to ensure that more accurate and up-to-date data 
      about civilian and uniformed personnel who are being sought in 
      conjunction with State paternity or child support actions can be 
      obtained from Federal agencies and their payroll and personnel 
      records, to improve efforts to locate noncustodial parents and 
      their income and assets;
    (iii) changes needed for selecting Federal agencies to test and 
      evaluate new approaches to the establishment and enforcement of 
      child support obligations;
    (iv) proposals to improve service of process for civilian employees 
      and members of the Uniformed Services stationed outside the United 
      States, including the possibility of serving process by certified 
      mail in establishment and enforcement cases or of designating an 
      agent for service of process that would have the same effect and 
      bind employees to the same extent as actual service upon the 
      employees;
    (v) strategies to facilitate compliance with Federal and State child 
      support requirements by quasi-governmental agencies, advisory 
      groups, and commissions; and
    (vi) analysis of whether compliance with support orders should be a 
      factor used in defining suitability for Federal employment.
    (b) The recommendations are due within 180 days of the date of this 
order. The recommendations are to be submitted in writing to the Office 
of Management and Budget.
    Sec. 501.  Internal Management. This order is intended only to 
improve the internal management of the executive branch with regard to 
child support enforcement and shall not be interpreted to create any 
right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a 
party against the United States, its officers, or any other person.
    Sec. 502. Sovereignty of the United States Government. This order is 
intended only to provide that the Federal Government has elected to 
require Federal agencies to adhere to the same standards as are 
applicable to all other employers in the Nation and shall not be 
interpreted as subjecting the Federal Government to any State law or 
requirement. This order should not be construed as a waiver of the 
sovereign immunity of the United States Government or of any existing 
statutory or regulatory provisions, including 42 U.S.C. 659, 662, and 
665; 5 CFR Part 581; 42 CFR Part 21, Subpart C; 32 CFR Part 54; and 32 
CFR Part 81.
    Sec. 503. Defense and Security. This order is not intended to 
require any action that would compromise the defense or national 
security interest of the United States.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
February 27, 1995.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:23 a.m., February 27, 
1995]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on 
February 28.