FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: 202-225-1025
March 13, 1997
No. HR-4
Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr., (R-FL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Administration's child support enforcement incentive payment proposal. The hearing will take place on Thursday, March 20, 1997, in room B-318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include representatives from the Administration, national organizations of child support administrators, organizations representing noncustodial parents, and child advocate groups. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Subcommittee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The Federal-State child support enforcement program collected about $13 billion in 1996. Enough money was collected from parents of children on welfare to offset nearly 15 percent of the costs of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program.
In each of the 50 States and territories, child support is financed by 3 streams of money: Federal reimbursement of 66 percent of all valid State expenditures on the State child support program; a share of the child support collections in welfare cases; and incentive payments of up to 10 percent of collections.
For many years, critics of the child support enforcement program have argued that Federal incentive payments, which now have reached nearly $500 million per year, do not effectively reward high performance by States. The biggest reported flaw in the payment system is that States receive Federal payments of at least six percent of collections regardless of their program's efficiency. Thus, a State that spends $1 million dollars to collect $1 million dollars would still receive an incentive payment of $60,000.
The extensive amendments to the child support program contained in last year's welfare reform legislation (P.L. 104-193) required the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study the incentive system and to make recommendations for reform of the system. The Secretary's report will be released this week. Based on preliminary discussions with HHS, it appears that the reforms to be recommended by the Secretary are carefully thought out and should enjoy substantial support.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Shaw stated: "The Subcommittee is holding this hearing to expose Members and the public to a broad range of opinions about the Administration's recommendations for reforming the incentive system. We have long known that the incentive system is flawed. Now we have a chance to study its flaws, learn about the Administration's proposed reforms, and develop a bipartisan consensus to pass legislation. I am intent on moving ahead in a bipartisan fashion so we can more effectively use the $500 million in annual incentive payments to stimulate high performance by State child support programs around the country."
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) copies of their statement and a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format, with their address and date of hearing noted, by the close of business, Thursday, April 3, 1997, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Human Resources office, room B-317 Rayburn House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-225-1904 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.