Jason Smith: “I rise in support of H.R. 6903, the Ensuring Children Receive Support Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 6903, the Ensuring Children Receive Support Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Beth Van Duyne and Jimmy Panetta. This legislation has a simple premise: Parents must meet their obligations to care for their kids, period. It is pretty simple. To ensure that is happening, State-level child support agencies rely in part on the Passport Denial Program, which is run out of the State Department and, as its name suggests, is used to deny the ability of delinquent parents to obtain a passport to leave the country when they owe back child support. The State Department has authority under current law to deny, limit, or revoke a passport of an individual, but as we have discovered, quite often the bureaucracy does not act with the level of urgency that is needed. This bill makes it clear that the State Department must revoke an individual's passport, both at the time of initial application for a passport and at the time of renewal. Research indicates that child support is a significant portion of income for low-income families, making up 41 percent of total income when received and can help reduce poverty and reliance on welfare. Among all families served, 24 percent have income below the Federal poverty level. Representatives Van Duyne and Panetta are doing tremendous work here to ensure that States have the enforcement tools that they need and children receive the support that they need and are owed without delay.”