	Introduction

In the 109th Congress, the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and MeansSubcommittee on Human Resources have approved legislation that would reauthorize and revise theTemporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant. (1) This legislation, S. 667 and H.R. 240 , also includes many changes to the Child SupportEnforcement (CSE) program, a component of the government's social safety net. In 1996, Congresspassed significant changes to the CSE program as part of its reform of welfare. S. 667 wasreported by the Senate Finance Committee on March 17, 2005 ( S.Rept. 109-51 ). H.R. 240was approved by the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources on March 15,2005. S. 667 and H.R. (5) 
Both S. 667 and H.R. 240 seek to improve the CSE program andraise collections so as to increase the economic independence of former welfare families and providea stable source of income for all single-parent families with a noncustodial parent. Both bills revise some CSE enforcement tools and add others. 240. (7) 
Both bills would provide incentives (in the form of federal cost sharing) to states to directmore of the child support collected on behalf of TANF families to the families themselves (oftenreferred to as a "family-first" policy), as opposed to using such collections to reimburse state andfederal coffers for welfare benefits paid to the families. However, the approaches of the bills differwith respect to the amount of federal cost-sharing provided and whether to help states pay for thecurrent cost of their CSE pass-through and disregard policies or to encourage states to establish suchpolicies or increase the pass-through and disregard already in place. H.R. Former TANF Families. Expansion of Collection/Enforcement Tools

Both bills include identical or similar provisions with respect to (1) lowering the thresholdamount for denial of a passport to a noncustodial parent who owes past-due child support; (2)facilitating the collection of child support from Social Security benefits; (3) easing the collection ofchild support from veterans' benefits; (4) allowing states to use the federal income tax refund offsetprogram to collect past-due child support for persons not on TANF who are no longer minors; (5)authorizing the HHS Secretary to compare information of noncustodial parents who owe past-duechild support with information maintained by insurers concerning insurance payments and to furnishany information resulting from a match to CSE agencies so they can pursue child support arrearages;and (6) allowing an assisting state to establish a child support interstate case based on another state'srequest for assistance (thereby enabling an assisting state to use the CSE statewide automated dataprocessing and information retrieval system for interstate cases). Other Provisions

Both bills include provisions that would (1) require states to review and if appropriate adjustchild support orders of TANF families every three years; (2) require the HHS Secretary to submita report to Congress on the procedures states use to locate custodial parents for whom child supporthas been collected but not yet distributed; (3) establish a minimum funding level for technicalassistance; (4) establish a minimum funding level for the Federal Parent Locator Service; and (5)designate Indian tribes and tribal organizations as persons authorized to have access to informationin the Federal Parent Locator Service. 240 includes a provision that would establish a $25 annual fee forindividuals who have never been on TANF but receive CSE services and who received at least $500in any given year. S. 667 includes provisions that would (1) increase funding for the CSE accessand visitation program; (2) require states to adopt a later version of the Uniform Interstate FamilySupport Act (UIFSA) so as to facilitate the collection of child support payments in interstate cases;and (3) allow the state of Texas to continue to operate its CSE program for automatic monitoring andenforcement of court orders on behalf of nonwelfare families without applying for a federal waiver.
In the 109th Congress, the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and MeansSubcommittee on Human Resources have approved legislation that would reauthorize and revise theTemporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant. This legislation, S. 667 and H.R. 240 , also includes many changes to the Child Support Enforcement (CSE)program, a component of the government's social safety net. In 1996, Congress passed significantchanges to the CSE program as part of its reform of welfare. S. 667 was reported by theSenate Finance Committee on March 17, 2005 ( S.Rept. 109-51 ). H.R. 240 was approvedby the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources on March 15, 2005.
Although not identical, both bills are similar in focus, direction, and content with respect tothe CSE provisions. Both bills include provisions that seek to improve the CSE program and raisecollections so as to increase the economic independence of former welfare families and provide astable source of income for all single-parent families with a noncustodial parent. Both bills provideincentives (in the form of federal cost sharing) to states to direct more of the child support collectedon behalf of families to the families themselves, thereby reducing the amount that state and federalgovernments retain (often referred to as a family-first policy). Under both bills, families currentlyreceiving TANF benefits as well as former TANF recipients would potentially receive a larger shareof child support that was collected on their behalf.
The approach used by the bills differ significantly, however, with regard to how states wouldhelp TANF families receive more child support. S. 667 provides federal cost-sharingfor the entire amount that the state disregards and passes through to families, whereas, under H.R. 240 , federal cost sharing incentives would be offered to encourage states to establish a child support pass-through provision or increase the amount of existing child supportpass-through payments. Also, H.R. 240 provides a more limited amount of federal costsharing for state pass-through and disregard policies than S. 667.
Both bills revise some CSE enforcement tools and add others; increase funding for theFederal Parent Locator Service (FPLS); increase funding for federal technical assistance to the states;require states to review child support orders of TANF families every three years; require that a reportbe submitted to Congress on undistributed child support collections; and designate Indian tribes andtribal organizations as persons authorized to have access to information in the FPLS. S. 667 increases funding for the CSE access and visitation program; requires states to adopt a laterversion of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) so as to facilitate the collection ofchild support payments in interstate cases; and requires that medical child support be provided byeither or both parents. H.R. 240 includes a provision that would establish a $25 annualuser fee for individuals who have never been on TANF but received at least $500 via CSE servicesin any given year. This report will be updated as needed.