Child support payments are not optional

By U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin
(R-Maine)

   Raising a child alone is one of the hardest things to do.
   Far too often, I have heard stories of kids growing up without having the necessary means for food, shelter and an education because their family is not receiving the much needed child support payments from their delinquent parent.

   According to the Office of Child Support Enforcement, in 2013, the child support program served nearly 17 million children – nearly 1 in 4 kids. As of April, Maine’s total child support case load is 56,731. That is 56,731 kids who deserve our attention.
   Additionally, CNN has reported that more than $100 billion is owed in unpaid child support. Maine has $529,769,735 in unpaid child support payments. That number deserves our attention.
   This past month, Maine’s Division of Support Enforcement & Recovery collected $5,068,294 toward that debt. Clearly, much work is still required.
   In Congress, I will work to help our custodial parents receive the child support payments they desperately need in order to provide more opportunities and freedoms for their kids.
   To that end, I introduced  the Child Support Assistance Act in order to help agencies aid families in collecting child support payments.
   As of now, to locate a delinquent parent and enforce an appropriate level for child support payment, enforcement agencies verify employment through consumer reporting agencies in order to obtain a consumer/credit rating. However, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, CRAs may not release consumer report information to a third party, such as an enforcement agency, unless they have legal bases for obtaining the report.
   The Child Support Assistance Act will fix such issues by amending the FCRA, allowing enforcement agencies to rapidly obtain consumer reports on delinquent parents. This change facilitates enforcing child support payments, without giving a delinquent parent an opportunity to change or hide their true responsibility.
   This bill will also expressly allow the enforcement agency to set an appropriate amount for child support payments and adjust the level as needed. I believe these common sense solutions are sorely needed.