42 U.S.C. § 652(k)
Encyclopedia
42 U.S.C. § 652 is a United States
law sometimes requires the denial or revocation of passport
s for individuals who are fail to pay child support
. The law was enacted as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
in 1996.
__FORCETOC__
passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). Congress sought to eliminate entitlement
s, or cash welfare, to individuals that were dispersed as part of Title IV-A of the Social Security
Act. Instead, Congress preferred block grant
s be dispersed to states
as part of a program it called TANF or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. According to the House Ways and Means Committee
(Report 104-15), "The major goal of Public Law 104–193 is to reduce the length of welfare spells by attacking dependency while simultaneously preserving the function of welfare as a safety net for families experiencing temporary financial problems." As part of this effort, Congress attempted to improve child support collection rates with the hope that single parent families would move off welfare rolls and remain self-sufficient. According to the Conference Report (Report 104-725) "It is the sense of the Senate that — (a) States should diligently continue their efforts to enforce child support payments by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent, regardless of the employment status or location of the non-custodial parent."
The reformed child support program pursued five major goals: automating many child support enforcement procedures; establishing uniform tracking procedures; strengthening interstate child support enforcement; requiring states to adopt stronger measures to establish paternity; and creating stronger enforcement tools to increase child support collections. Congress designed the law to encourage states to have similar child support laws, to help states share information through the Federal child support office, to process routine information, and to handle interstate cases quickly.
Section III (Child Support), Subtitle G (Enforcement of Child Support) contained 14 enforcement measures to improve the collection of child support, including Denial of Passports for Nonpayment of Child Support in Section 370. Under Section 370, 42 U.S.C. § 652(k)(2) was amended so that the "Secretary of State shall, upon certification by the Secretary transmitted under paragraph (1), refuse to issue a passport to such individual, and may revoke, restrict, or limit a passport issued previously to such individual." None of three committee reports on record commented on the rationale for making passport revocation, restriction or limitation discretionary by using the word "may."
The State Department
adopted a policy of refusing to issue passports to individuals whose child support payments were $5,000 or more in arrears
, but it did not have the resources to revoke the existing passports of such individuals. An individual had to apply for "new passport services" to come to the attention of the State Department. "New services" also included services such as the addition of pages to a passport.
protections are outlined in 42 U.S.C. 654(31)(A). This section states the prerequisites to passport denial or restrictions under 42 U.S.C. § 652. It reads: "(A) each individual concerned is afforded notice of such determination and the consequences thereof, and an opportunity to contest the determination". The language does not require a final ruling on contested determinations, only that "notice and opportunity" be given. The Family Support Act
of 1988 also required that in any judicial or administrative proceeding for the award of child support there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the child support resulting from the state's guideline is the correct amount of child support to be awarded.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act also allows liens to be placed on non-custodial parent's assets to effectuate collection of child support. But due process safeguards on passport denials are less strict than those on placing liens. The passport denial law requires "notice and opportunity" but placing a lien requires an additional level of due process. Before a lien may be placed, an "opportunity for an appeal on the record to an independent administrative or judicial tribunal" must be made available.
45 C.F.R. § 303.35(a) (2001) also requires that each state have in place "an administrative complaint procedure … to allow individuals the opportunity to request an administrative review" to correct errors made by state child support enforcement agencies.
In 1975, Federally funded child support collection mechanisms were first extended to parents that were not receiving AFDC
(the predecessor to TANF) when part D of the Social Security Act was enacted as part of P.L. 93-647. Child support enforcement measures have been periodically enhanced since 1975. The legislative record on H.R. 3734 is silent on whether or why Congress intended to extend the federally-funded, enhanced collection mechanisms to non-welfare recipients or if it even considered the issue. The House Ways and Means Committee
estimated that the cost of extending these measures to non-TANF custodial parents exceeds $88 billion annually, while the amount of child support payments targeted in the legislation was $34 billion.
to submit a report to Congress on the feasibility of lowering the threshold amount of an individual's support arrearage from $5,000 to $2,500. In 2000, the George W. Bush administration
proposed reducing the threshold to $2,500 in a bill known as the "Child Support Enforcement Enhancement Amendments of 2000" but it was never introduced. Three bills were subsequently introduced modifying the passport restrictions. 108 H.R. 4859 (2004) attempted to reduce the threshold to $2,500 but never became law. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
(P.L. 109-171) Section 7303 reduced the arrearage amount required to trigger a passport denial from $5,000 to $2,500. In 2007, 110 H.R. 491 was introduced to make revocation mandatory rather than discretionary, but this bill also never became law. In 2009, 111 H.R. 2723 was introduced to "to provide for an exemption to allow an individual otherwise ineligible to travel outside the United States to do so for employment purposes to pay child support arrearages, and for other purposes " As of December 2009, it awaits further action.
The enforcement provisions affecting U.S. passports have thus far survived Constitutional challenges in Weinstein v. Albright (2001), Eunique v. Powell
(2002), In re James K. Walker
(2002), Dept of Revenue v. Nesbitt (2008), Risenhoover v. Washington
(2008), and Borracchini v. Jones (2009).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
law sometimes requires the denial or revocation of passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
s for individuals who are fail to pay child support
Child support
In family law and public policy, child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other relationship...
. The law was enacted as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 is a United States federal law considered to be a fundamental shift in both the method and goal of federal cash assistance to the poor. The bill added a workforce development component to welfare legislation, encouraging...
in 1996.
__FORCETOC__
Legislative history
In 1996 the United States CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). Congress sought to eliminate entitlement
Entitlement
An entitlement is a guarantee of access to benefits based on established rights or by legislation. A "right" is itself an entitlement associated with a moral or social principle, such that an "entitlement" is a provision made in accordance with legal framework of a society...
s, or cash welfare, to individuals that were dispersed as part of Title IV-A of the Social Security
Social Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
Act. Instead, Congress preferred block grant
Block grant
In a fiscal federal form of government, a block grant is a large sum of money granted by the national government to a regional government with only general provisions as to the way it is to be spent...
s be dispersed to states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
as part of a program it called TANF or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. According to the House Ways and Means Committee
United States House Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party's congressional leadership...
(Report 104-15), "The major goal of Public Law 104–193 is to reduce the length of welfare spells by attacking dependency while simultaneously preserving the function of welfare as a safety net for families experiencing temporary financial problems." As part of this effort, Congress attempted to improve child support collection rates with the hope that single parent families would move off welfare rolls and remain self-sufficient. According to the Conference Report (Report 104-725) "It is the sense of the Senate that — (a) States should diligently continue their efforts to enforce child support payments by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent, regardless of the employment status or location of the non-custodial parent."
The reformed child support program pursued five major goals: automating many child support enforcement procedures; establishing uniform tracking procedures; strengthening interstate child support enforcement; requiring states to adopt stronger measures to establish paternity; and creating stronger enforcement tools to increase child support collections. Congress designed the law to encourage states to have similar child support laws, to help states share information through the Federal child support office, to process routine information, and to handle interstate cases quickly.
Section III (Child Support), Subtitle G (Enforcement of Child Support) contained 14 enforcement measures to improve the collection of child support, including Denial of Passports for Nonpayment of Child Support in Section 370. Under Section 370, 42 U.S.C. § 652(k)(2) was amended so that the "Secretary of State shall, upon certification by the Secretary transmitted under paragraph (1), refuse to issue a passport to such individual, and may revoke, restrict, or limit a passport issued previously to such individual." None of three committee reports on record commented on the rationale for making passport revocation, restriction or limitation discretionary by using the word "may."
The State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
adopted a policy of refusing to issue passports to individuals whose child support payments were $5,000 or more in arrears
Arrears
Arrears is a legal term for the part of a debt that is overdue after missing one or more required payments. The amount of the arrears is the amount accrued from the date on which the first missed payment was due...
, but it did not have the resources to revoke the existing passports of such individuals. An individual had to apply for "new passport services" to come to the attention of the State Department. "New services" also included services such as the addition of pages to a passport.
Procedural due process protections
Procedural due processDue process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
protections are outlined in 42 U.S.C. 654(31)(A). This section states the prerequisites to passport denial or restrictions under 42 U.S.C. § 652. It reads: "(A) each individual concerned is afforded notice of such determination and the consequences thereof, and an opportunity to contest the determination". The language does not require a final ruling on contested determinations, only that "notice and opportunity" be given. The Family Support Act
Family Support Act
The Family Support Act was a federal law created by the United States government in 1988. An Associated Press article said that the law "required teen mothers who receive public assistance to remain in high school and, in some cases, to live with their parents." The Act focused on lowering the...
of 1988 also required that in any judicial or administrative proceeding for the award of child support there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the child support resulting from the state's guideline is the correct amount of child support to be awarded.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act also allows liens to be placed on non-custodial parent's assets to effectuate collection of child support. But due process safeguards on passport denials are less strict than those on placing liens. The passport denial law requires "notice and opportunity" but placing a lien requires an additional level of due process. Before a lien may be placed, an "opportunity for an appeal on the record to an independent administrative or judicial tribunal" must be made available.
45 C.F.R. § 303.35(a) (2001) also requires that each state have in place "an administrative complaint procedure … to allow individuals the opportunity to request an administrative review" to correct errors made by state child support enforcement agencies.
Legislative intent
The purpose of PRWORA is to reduce federal welfare expenditures, but the enhanced enforcement measures under Section 370 are not limited to TANF. Section 301 amends Section 654 to allow enhanced enforcement for "any other child, if an individual applies for such services with respect to the child" even if the custodial parent is not receiving TANF funds for those other children. State child support agencies routinely do this on behalf of custodial parents because federal subsidies and performance incentives included in the bill encourage this practice. Many states have interpreted this section to require the state agency to apply for these benefits.In 1975, Federally funded child support collection mechanisms were first extended to parents that were not receiving AFDC
Aid to Families with Dependent Children
Aid to Families with Dependent Children was a federal assistance program in effect from 1935 to 1996, which was administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services...
(the predecessor to TANF) when part D of the Social Security Act was enacted as part of P.L. 93-647. Child support enforcement measures have been periodically enhanced since 1975. The legislative record on H.R. 3734 is silent on whether or why Congress intended to extend the federally-funded, enhanced collection mechanisms to non-welfare recipients or if it even considered the issue. The House Ways and Means Committee
United States House Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party's congressional leadership...
estimated that the cost of extending these measures to non-TANF custodial parents exceeds $88 billion annually, while the amount of child support payments targeted in the legislation was $34 billion.
Subsequent history
There have been several modifications to the passport denial provision, as well as a few unsuccessful attempts at reform. P.L. 106-113 (1999) required the Secretary of StateUnited States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
to submit a report to Congress on the feasibility of lowering the threshold amount of an individual's support arrearage from $5,000 to $2,500. In 2000, the George W. Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
proposed reducing the threshold to $2,500 in a bill known as the "Child Support Enforcement Enhancement Amendments of 2000" but it was never introduced. Three bills were subsequently introduced modifying the passport restrictions. 108 H.R. 4859 (2004) attempted to reduce the threshold to $2,500 but never became law. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the budget, that became law in 2006.-Legislative history:The Senate's version passed after a tie-breaking vote was cast by Vice President Dick Cheney. The bill passed the chamber with no Democrats and five Republicans...
(P.L. 109-171) Section 7303 reduced the arrearage amount required to trigger a passport denial from $5,000 to $2,500. In 2007, 110 H.R. 491 was introduced to make revocation mandatory rather than discretionary, but this bill also never became law. In 2009, 111 H.R. 2723 was introduced to "to provide for an exemption to allow an individual otherwise ineligible to travel outside the United States to do so for employment purposes to pay child support arrearages, and for other purposes " As of December 2009, it awaits further action.
The enforcement provisions affecting U.S. passports have thus far survived Constitutional challenges in Weinstein v. Albright (2001), Eunique v. Powell
Eunique v. Powell
Eunique v. Powell 281 F3d 940 ,challenging passport denial for child support arrearage under 42 USC 652 and enacted as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act in 1996, is the second cornerstone of the Court's thinking on passport denial/revocation under this law.-Case:Eudene...
(2002), In re James K. Walker
In re James K. Walker
In re James K. Walker is a case challenging the denial of passport issuance due to child support arrears under 42 USC 652, enacted in 1996 as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act....
(2002), Dept of Revenue v. Nesbitt (2008), Risenhoover v. Washington
Risenhoover v. Washington
Risenhoover v. Washington is a case that challenged passport denial to an individual for child support arrears under 42 USC 652, a statute enacted as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996.-Background:Paul Risenhoover and Ying Lang divorced in 1995 when they were...
(2008), and Borracchini v. Jones (2009).