Strengthening State and Tribal Child Support Enforcement Act

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I associate myself with all of the comments that have been made today in describing the importance of these bills and getting us one step closer to a really healthy, robust title IV-B reauthorization and putting that into law.

I especially thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Work and Welfare, and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Work and Welfare, for bringing us here today.

As the chairwoman of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, I am so grateful that so many of our priorities of the bipartisan caucus were addressed in this package, including ensuring that poverty is not synonymous with neglect; including enhancing peer- to-peer mentoring; listening to the voices of those with experience in the welfare system; supporting youth as they transition out of foster care; giving a larger, broader platform to considering kinship caregiving as opposed to removing children from homes; improving our child support collection mechanisms; and strengthening the Indian Child Welfare Act.

This package includes a much-needed, albeit small, increase in title IV-B dollars. Whatever way it is sliced, we can't make the system better or work the way we want without making investments.

One of my main priorities in Congress has been to make sure that poverty is not synonymous with neglect, and I was so very proud to work with the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) during the reauthorization effort to include this provision in the bill before us.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me additional time.

Mr. Speaker, I was proud to work with the gentleman to require that States receiving these Federal dollars to identify and implement policies that would prevent family separation solely based on poverty.

I am so proud to have worked on the provision to make sure that those with lived experience in the foster youth system are included in the development of State plans.

It is also critically important that we are passing the part of this legislation, the Strengthening State and Tribal Support Act, that piece of the legislation championed by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Hern). I have joined him in cosponsoring this bill to improve a key mechanism for enforcing child support orders, and that is intercepting State tax refunds.

Mr. Speaker, child support payments are vital to child well-being and development, and they help fight child poverty and keeping both parents engaged in supporting their child.

Tribes are currently unable to directly request that tax refunds be garnished for child support, and States have problems, as well, with these hindrances. This is also a direct affront to Tribal sovereignty not to be able to provide these services directly. I am so glad that these provisions have been included.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from those 27 Governors, including Wisconsin's own Tony Evers, in support of the provisions which they argue will support the ability of State, Tribal, and local child support agencies to adequately service families.

Hon. Charles E. Schumer,

Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Mitch McConnell,

Minority Leader, U.S. Senate,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Mike Johnson,

Speaker, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Hakeem Jeffries

Minority Leader, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McConnell,

Speaker Johnson, and Minority Leader Jeffries: As governors

from across the nation, we urge you to pass the bipartisan

Strengthening State and Tribal Child Support Act (H.R. 7906),

which will help support the ability of state, Tribal, and

local child support agencies to serve families in each of our

states.

Maintaining states' and Tribes' ability to perform child

support enforcement via federal tax offset is vital to

ensuring the well-being of over 12 million children currently

receiving the services of the child support program. It is

critical that states and Tribes do not lose the ability to

perform this essential action.

Background

Federal law requires child support agencies to access

federal tax information (FTI) for establishment and

enforcement purposes, including the federal tax refund offset

program. Child support agencies across the country contract

with private partners for this and a variety of critical

services, including management of state disbursement units,

which are responsible for disbursement of all child support

funds collected in a state, as well as technology services

related to the maintenance and development of child support

case management systems.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has determined that

direct access to FTI by Tribal child support programs is

prohibited under current law and that contractor access to

FTI is limited. Until last year, IRS audits of

child support programs held those federal tax information

findings in abeyance while waiting for a legislative

solution.

The IRS and the federal Office of Child Support Services

(OCSS) had agreed for decades to allow contractor access to

FTI for the sole purpose of establishing and enforcing child

support obligations as long as contractors adhered to

stringent measures to ensure that confidential information

remained protected. Importantly, contractors have never

breached the extensive confidentiality requirements. A

legislative solution to this issue is long overdue.

Legislative Solution

Introduced by Representative Kevin Hern (R-Oklahoma) and

lead cosponsors Representatives Gwen Moore (D-Wisconsin) and

Suzan DelBene (D-Washington), H.R. 7906 resolves a long-

standing discrepancy in interpretation under the Internal

Revenue Code of the use and definition of contractors, who

are integral to assisting child support agencies in

establishing and enforcing child support obligations. The

companion to H.R. 7906, S. 3154, was introduced in the Senate

by Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) and Senator Ron Wyden

(D-Oregon).

The federal tax refund offset program collects tens of

millions in current and past due child support every year.

These vital funds for children across the nation are in

jeopardy if resolution to this discrepancy is not addressed.

Based on preliminary cost estimates obtained from child

support program directors across the country, absent this

legislative solution, compliance with IRS requirements would

total over $1 billion nationally in additional costs for

child support programs each year. These are the additional

administrative costs associated with bringing current vendor-

provided services in-house. The legislation would also

provide Tribes with direct access to federal tax information

to offset federal tax refunds from parents owing support to

their children and allow them to obtain vital information to

establish and enforce child support for children served by

tribal child support agencies.

Bipartisan, Bicameral, Stakeholder Support

After many months of review and negotiation, this important

effort and bill as introduced has earned bipartisan support

and a nearly identical bill is pending in the Senate.

Additionally, the IRS and the Office of Child Support

Services were meaningfully engaged and involved throughout

the process and supported the provisions. The four national

associations representing state and Tribal child support

agencies also support the bill.

This legislative fix clarifying the use of contractors

provides administrative certainty for all agencies and

provides Tribes with direct access to tax refund offsets,

giving them another tool to support children and families. We

support the passage of H.R 7906 to avoid disruption in these

essential services.

Sincerely,

Governor Tony Evers, Wisconsin.

Governor Mike DeWine, Ohio.

Governor Kay Ivey, Alabama.

Governor Gavin Newsom, California.

Governor Ned Lamont, Connecticut.

Governor Josh Green, M.D., Hawaii.

Governor Laura Kelly, Kansas.

Governor Wes Moore, Maryland.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan.

Governor Katie Hobbs, Arizona.

Governor Jared Polis, Colorado.

Governor John Carney, Delaware.

Governor J.B. Pritzker, Illinois.

Governor Janet Mills, Maine.

Governor Maura Healey, Massachusetts.

Governor Mike Parson, Missouri.

Governor Phil Murphy, New Jersey.

Governor Doug Burgum, North Dakota.

Governor Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania.

Governor Kristi Noem, South Dakota.

Governor Phil Scott, Vermont.

Governor Mark Gordon, Wyoming.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico.

Governor Tina Kotek, Oregon.

Governor Dan McKee, Rhode Island.

Governor Spencer Cox, Utah.

Governor Jay Inslee, Washington.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9076) to reauthorize and modernize part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to strengthen child welfare services, expand the availability of prevention services to better meet the needs of vulnerable families, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, title IV-B of the Social Security Act provides critical resources to protect the safety and well-being of children in foster care and gives States, Tribes, and territories flexibility to invest in prevention services to keep vulnerable families together whenever possible.

Unfortunately, this program's authorization expired in 2021, and the program has remained largely unchanged since 2008. We have a responsibility to make sure programs are meeting the current needs of families and children who need it most. This reauthorization modernizes title IV-B child welfare and increases accountability.

Right now, there are nearly 400,000 children in foster care and over 20,000 who age out of foster care each year.

The Ways and Means Committee has worked over the last year to conduct a top-to-bottom review of America's child welfare system. We have held four hearings and numerous meetings with stakeholders to better understand where there are gaps and how to bring this program up to date to better serve America's children.

I represent one of the poorest congressional districts in the country, and before I came to Congress, I practiced family law and saw firsthand how our child welfare system can put undue strain on families.

That is why I particularly appreciate the opportunity to have worked with Representative Gwen Moore in introducing legislation, included in this bill, that prevents child services from taking children away from their families simply because they live in poverty. I think about the families separated in Missouri over the years not because of abuse or neglect, but because they could not afford to pay a bill or new clothes for their kids. It is not right, and this bill corrects that.

The bipartisan legislation before us today is the result of those efforts. It will not only help address the needs of children in foster care but also support early intervention to help families stay together. The Protecting America's Children by Strengthening Families Act, introduced by the chair and ranking member of our Work and Welfare Subcommittee, Darin LaHood and Danny Davis, reauthorizes title IV-B for 5 years and makes significant reforms to modernize the program.

Specifically, this bill reduces the administrative burden by dialing back paperwork and reporting requirements that are hamstringing caseworkers.

It streamlines funding to improve access for Indian Tribes.

It helps to prevent abuse and neglect and ensures that children are not separated from their parents solely on the basis of poverty.

It addresses the caseworker crisis by improving access to training.

It strengthens the support systems for the 2.5 million grandparents and relatives who provide kinship care to children who might otherwise enter foster care.

It also improves outcomes for youth transitioning from foster care into adulthood.

This bill also includes important legislation from Representative Hern of Oklahoma that would strengthen the tools available to States and Tribes to ensure millions of families receive the child support that they are owed. That bill would prevent the IRS from blocking State child support agencies from using contractors to administrator their child support enforcement program.

Representative Hern's bill, the Strengthening State and Tribal Child Support Enforcement Act, will harmonize Federal laws so States can continue carrying out necessary child support payment collections and allow Tribal child support agencies to direct access to the same tools. This bill avoids additional significant costs that would be incurred by both States and Tribes should the IRS policy go into place as it is scheduled to do on October 1.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Work and Welfare.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Hern).

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker).

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Yakym).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is not often that you find this many Republicans and Democrats voting together on a bill, but when it comes to supporting children and families, we are in strong agreement.

Reauthorizing title IV-B is a first-in-a-generation win that will refocus the child welfare system on keeping families together and preventing abuse and neglect.

Don't take our word for it. The title IV-B coalition, made up of 22 different national, State, and county organizations, has endorsed this legislation. The National Foster Youth Institute, the Child Welfare League of America, and the National Indian Child Welfare Association have all come out in support of this legislation.

I also give a special thanks to Paris Hilton for personally coming to Capitol Hill and testifying about her lived experience and in support of reforms to this program.

The legislation from Representative Hern that is also included in this bill will fix the disconnect between Federal laws that are currently setting up State and Tribal child support agencies for failure.

The child support enforcement program is one of the most highly successful, cost-effective Federal programs that millions of families across the country rely upon each month. The program produces $5 in benefits for every $1 spent on administration. Nearly 13 million children, representing 18 percent of all children, are affected by this program.

Twenty-six States from the National Governors Association have endorsed this legislation, along with the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Association of Counties, and the National Association of Tribal Child Support Directors.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join them in supporting this important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) for his leadership and guidance in bringing this bill through the Committee on Ways and Means and to the floor here today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, Supporting America's Children and Families Act. As chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Work and Welfare, I am proud that this important legislation demonstrates our bipartisan commitment to supporting vulnerable children and parents.

H.R. 9076 includes two pieces of legislation. Title I contains the Protecting America's Children by Strengthening Families Act, which I am proud to have introduced alongside the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), my fellow Illinoisan, ranking member, and friend, to reauthorize and improve the title IV-B program. The bill authorizes and reforms this critical child welfare program to support the safety and well-being of children in foster care.

The second bill, introduced by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Hern), my friend, will ensure States and Tribes have the tools necessary to continue to collect child support on behalf of millions of families across the country.

This combined legislation is the result of a yearlong investigation and five committee hearings to learn from stakeholders, parents, States, and Tribes.

Based on that work, we have been able to include bipartisan reforms that will improve child welfare and strengthen child support enforcement across the country, all with the net result of a reduction in direct Federal spending of $136 million over 10 years.

I repeat: a reduction in direct Federal spending of $136 million over 10 years.

I take seriously the Subcommittee on Work and Welfare's responsibility to ensure we have a strong safety net for the nearly 400,000 children in foster care who have experienced the trauma and hardships of abuse and neglect. This 5-year reauthorization modernizes the program and expands what we know is working.

In government, we often add to programs over time in our quest for improvement. Regrettably, though, this approach often results in fragmented and complex systems that burden administrators and hinder families from receiving the support they desperately need.

This legislation before us tackles that issue and represents the most significant reform and investment in child welfare since 1993. Bills which were the foundation of what we are voting on here today were introduced by 19 Members from both sides of the aisle.

This bill will specifically save taxpayer dollars through early intervention to keep families together, whenever possible, and reduce the need for foster care. It removes ineffective requirements and ensures States are accountable for matching Federal funds. It frees up more time for States and caseworkers to focus on families by requiring HHS to reduce administrative burdens by 15 percent. It expands access for Tribal communities by streamlining funding. It builds support systems for the 2.5 million grandparents and relatives serving as kinship caregivers, and strengthens post-adoption services to ensure children waiting for adoption find stable, loving homes.

This child welfare reauthorization has been endorsed by more than 200 organizations, including our county, State, and Tribal partners, as well as organizations representing former foster youth with lived experience.

Title II of the legislation before us includes the Strengthening State and Tribal Child Support Enforcement Act, which I am proud to have cosponsored with the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Hern), the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker), the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene), and the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

A key tool used to collect past-due child support is the Treasury Offset Program. This program allows States to collect past-due obligations by intercepting Federal tax refunds from noncustodial parents.

Last year, 5 percent, or $1.5 billion, was collected for families through this program. Unfortunately, a statutory conflict threatens to cut off access to this important child support enforcement tool for 42 States.

Absent a legislative change by October 1 of 2024, States and the Federal Government face hundreds of millions in new costs, and millions of families could lose vital child support payments.

The legislation before us today will formally authorize State use of contractors while maintaining protections on the privacy of Federal taxpayer information.

Further, this bill authorizes Tribal access, providing much-needed parity for Tribal enforcement agencies.

I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Hern) for his leadership on this bill. This legislation has garnered endorsements from State and Tribal organizations across the country, including 26 sitting Governors.

The well-being and safety of America's children and struggling families is an area of common interest for both Republicans and Democrats. This legislation demonstrates what we can achieve when we work together. I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) for his continued partnership and leadership on these issues.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I acknowledge all of the members of the Subcommittee on Work and Welfare and the full Committee on Ways and Means for their valuable contribution and input on this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Supporting America's Children and Families Act which now includes two bipartisan bills reported out of the Ways and Means Committee. The first bill would improve and invest in the child welfare services funded under title IV-B of the Social Security Act. The second bill would ensure that State and Tribal child support agencies can continue their work collecting child support obligations.

I thank Chairman LaHood and Chairman Smith for their hard work and willingness to work with all of us to reauthorize and improve title IV- B of the Social Security Act. I am delighted that today we advance this important bipartisan step forward for our most vulnerable children and families.

This bill would increase guaranteed funding for the MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program for the first time since 2006, providing meaningful new resources to make sure that all children are in safe, loving, and permanent homes.

The bill includes good ideas from Members on both sides of the aisle and from the experts who work with us to prioritize child well-being in our work. Indeed, 228 national, State, and local organizations support this bill.

The bill provides modest but critical funding for services all along the child welfare continuum. In addition to providing essential new funding for both State and Tribal child welfare agencies to support families, this bill includes numerous, significant investments and policy updates that improve child safety and well-being.

For example, it invests in aiding kinship caregivers in finding needed resources and in evidence-based programs that successfully help parents

overcome substance abuse disorders to safely care for their children.

It increases funding for Tribal child welfare programs while respecting Tribal sovereignty and monitoring State engagement with the Indian Child Welfare Act. It updates our policies to help ensure that parents and children have access to independent legal representation in child welfare court proceedings, a key factor to address racial disparities in child welfare.

This bill also provides for a new demonstration project to promote meaningful relationships between foster youth and their incarcerated parents. I have personally witnessed the power of these relationships to change lives for both children and parents, and I thank Chairman LaHood and my colleagues for working with me to help these families.

In addition, the bill amends section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code to bring parity to Tribal and State child support services agencies and to ensure that State agencies can continue their work.

I recognize the leadership of Representatives Gwen Moore, Suzan DelBene, and Kevin Hern on these provisions. I know that agencies across the country and in my home State of Illinois are eager for us to enact this provision quickly to resolve a longstanding discrepancy in interpretation about the use and definition of contractors assisting child support agencies. The bill strengthens the ability of State, Tribal, and local child support agencies to serve families.

Both the substance of this bill and the true collaboration in both policy areas, child welfare and child support, represent a great step forward.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support its passage, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Social Security.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), one of the most serious antipoverty advocates that I know.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I thank Chairman Smith and Chairman LaHood for their partnership on this important bill that would improve and invest in child welfare services under title IV- B and ensure that State and Tribal support agencies can continue their work. I think all of our committee can be seriously proud of this bipartisan work. It has been a pleasure working with the chair and Mr. LaHood.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this very important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in favor of H.R. 9076. I am very pleased that this legislation is coming to the House floor today.

The Supporting America's Children and Families Act includes two pieces of legislation that are important, not just to me, but to my home State of Oklahoma.

The first is the Strengthening State and Tribal Child Support Enforcement Act. This policy finally allows Tribes who run their own child support enforcement programs to access Treasury offset programs. There are 38 federally recognized Tribes in my home State of Oklahoma, 10 of which run their own child support enforcement agencies.

I would highlight this policy has the support of the National Tribal Child Support Association and the National Association of Tribal Child Support Directors.

Not only does this policy help Tribes efficiently run their child support enforcement programs, but States will be allowed to continue to use the third-party contractors to help run their child support enforcement programs. Child support enforcement is not a partisan issue. It is the right thing for Congress to do. Without this fix, we risk States having to bring all child support enforcement services in- house, costing hundreds of millions of dollars, along with the immediate pause of child support programs to millions of families, an absolutely devastating outcome. We cannot let this happen to our families.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this piece of legislation to help the children that are growing up to be this country's next generation because it truly is about the children.

This legislation also includes the Tribal Welfare Support Act, which allows child welfare funds from title IV-B to be paid directly to Tribes, reducing the regulatory burden for both States and Tribes.

Right now, child welfare payments are made to Tribes through two different funding allocations, one of which goes through States rather than directly to Tribal guarantees, an outdated and fragmented system that needs to be updated.

The Tribal Child Welfare Support Act modernizes this process so that title IV-B recipients can spend more time helping their children and families, and less time wading through the red tape.

The Supporting America's Children and Families Act passed unanimously out of the Committee on Ways and Means and contains priorities that will help families and children all over this country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this piece of legislation today.