Supporting America's Children and Families Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. 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.
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Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. 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.
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