Washington D.C.- Wyoming's U.S. Senators Craig Thomas and Mike Enzi are pushing legislation that could save the state from losing nearly $15 million annually in federal funding for its child support enforcement programs.

Under federal law, any state that missed the Oct. 1, 1999 deadline for establishing a single collection address for child support payments, known as a state disbursement unit (SDU), will lose all federal funding for operating its child support enforcement program. The state may lose other welfare funding as well. Wyoming applied to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for a waiver from the SDU requirement, contending that its county-based collection system meets the intent of the law and is most effective for the state. Nationwide, collection of child support is up 49 percent since reforms were enacted in 1996 -- Wyoming's increased 121 percent during the same time period.

In August, the Wyoming delegation sent a letter to HHS Secretary Donna Shalala, stressing the need for approval of the state's second waiver request. The delegation continues to work for the waiver, but the senators said legislation is necessary to give the state time to work out its differences with the department and avoid complete loss of funding. The bill would provide for a new deadline of April 1, 2000 and would reduce penalties if the state's system is not found in compliance at that time.

"This case sadly illustrates everything that's wrong with one-size-fits-all federal requirements -- common sense goes out the door," Thomas said. "Wyoming has been extremely effective in collecting child support payments to assist our children and families, but the federal bureaucrats would rather sacrifice success because our approach doesn't match the letter of their mandate."

Thomas said the proposed temporary fix has an excellent opportunity of being attached to other bills bound for the President's desk during the closing days of this congressional session.

Enzi said the bill is not the ideal answer, but it would give him and the other state leaders time to work on a permanent solution.

"I would prefer a federal law that would allow a state to reach the targeted goals in the manner best for that state," he said. "Wyoming far exceeds the benchmarks, but is caught in red tape. I'll be working to free us from the entanglement, but in the meantime this legislation would give us more time to deal with the threat of lost funding."

Under the Thomas/Enzi legislation, states that don't operate with a SDU by October 1, 1999 will have the opportunity to avoid large federal penalties if they can demonstrate that they are moving toward compliance.

The bill would also prevent the federal government from withholding federal welfare funding to states not related to child support payment collection.

The legislation will be referred to the Senate Finance Committee next week where Senators Thomas and Enzi have been assured by the chairman that it will see action before the end of Congress expected in November.