Supporting America's Children and Families Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LaHOOD. 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.

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