| Sponsor | Rep. Berg, Rick |
| Date | June 5, 2012 (112th Congress, 2nd Session) |
| Staff Contact | Andy Koenig |
On Tuesday, June 5, 2012, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 4282, the International Child Support Recovery Improvement Act of 2012, under a suspension of the rules requiring a two-thirds majority for approval. The bill was introduced on March 28, 2012, by Rep. Rick Berg (R-ND) and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
H.R. 4282 would amend the Social Security Act to ensure that the United States can comply fully with the obligations of the Hague Convention of November 23, 2007, on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance. Specifically, the bill would require that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) use its authority to ensure that the U.S. complies with any multilateral child support convention to which it is a party. The bill would do so by allowing the Federal Parent Locator Service to be used for child support enforcement in a foreign reciprocating country or a foreign treaty country. The bill would give states the option to require individuals in foreign countries to apply for child support enforcement services through their country’s appropriate central authority. The bill would further require each state to have in effect the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. Under the legislation, these changes would be implemented no later than October 1, 2013, or the effective date of laws enacted by the state legislature implementing the changes.
In addition, the bill would require the Secretary of HHS to designate a data exchange standard for any category of for child support enforcement information required to be reported. The standards would be required to incorporate a widely-accepted, non-proprietary, searchable, computer-readable format and be consistent with applicable accounting principles. The bill would require that the standards be continually updated as necessary. The bill would direct HHS to issue a proposed rule within 12 months of enactment, and issue a final rule, after public comment, within 24 months of enactment.
The bill would also allow HHS to provide state and federal agencies with access to data in the New Hires Database of the Federal Parent Locator Service, and to information reported by employers, for research, evaluations or statistical analysis undertaken to assess the effectiveness of child support enforcement programs. Data or information provided would include a personal identifier only if the relevant agency enters into an agreement with the Treasury Department regarding the security and use of the data or information. Any individual who willfully discloses a personal identifier would be guilty of a class E felony under H.R. 4282.
A CBO score of H.R. 4282 was not available as of press time.