Political Quotes

“I believe this amendment is quite straightforward. It basically says that, if a noncustodial parent is delinquent on child support payments and gets into arrears extending beyond 2 months, that individual, that deadbeat dad or deadbeat mom, as the case may be, will not be entitled to means-tested Federal benefits. I think it is very important that we do this. I do not think we should be in the business of giving benefits to people who are neglecting their children. Many families go on welfare because noncustodial parents are not paying their child support. What we do in this amendment is we give people a second chance. We say if they agree to sign a schedule and commit themselves to the repayment of the arrears and continue the payments on time, then they can get these benefits. But if they fail again, they will have to wait 2 years before they get a chance at those benefits again. I hope we will have broad support for this amendment. Only about 18 percent of all cases result in child support collections across this Nation. And we have to remember we have 9.5 million children counting on AFDC for support. We could really take people out of poverty quickly if the deadbeat parent, be it a mom or a dad--usually it is a dad but sometimes it is a mom--came through with their child support payments.”