	Introduction

During the 108th Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate Finance Committeeapproved two different versions of a bill that would have reauthorized and revised the TemporaryAssistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant. This legislation, H.R. 4 , alsoincluded many changes to the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program, a component of thegovernment's social safety net. 4 was passed by the House in February 2003. TheSenate Finance Committee reported a substitute version of the bill in September 2003 ( S.Rept.108-162 ). On March 29-April 1, 2004, the Senate debated H.R. 4; disagreement aroseregarding amendments to the bill, a motion to limit debate was overruled, and the Senate did notvote on passage of the bill. 4 sought to improve the CSE program and raise collections so as to increase the economic independence of former welfare families and provide a stable sourceof income for all single-parent families with a noncustodial parent. Both versions of the bill revised some CSE enforcement tools and added others. (4)
Both versions of H.R. 4 would have provided incentives (in the form of federal cost sharing) to states to direct more of the child support collected on behalf of TANF families tothe families themselves, as opposed to using such collections to reimburse state and federal coffersfor welfare benefits paid to the families (often referred to as a "family-first" policy). However theapproaches of the bills differed with respect to the limitation on the federal cost-sharing and whetherto help states pay for the current cost of their CSE pass-through and disregard policies or toencourage states to establish such policies or increase the pass-through and disregard already inplace. In other words, the House-passed bill intended to increase theamount of child support that was passed through to TANF families (and disregarded) by the state. Unlike the House-passed bill, under the bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee the federal government would have shared in the costs of the entire amount of current pass-through anddisregard policies used by states. Former TANF Families. Similarly, H.R. Other Provisions

Both versions of the bill included provisions that would have (1) required states to review and if appropriate adjust child support orders of TANF families every three years; (2) required the HHSSecretary to submit a report to Congress on the procedures states use to locate custodial parents forwhom child support has been collected but not yet distributed; (3) established a minimum fundinglevel for technical assistance; and (4) established a minimum funding level for the Federal ParentLocator Service. 4 included a provision that would have established a $25 annual fee for individuals who had never been on TANF but received CSE servicesand who received at least $500 in any given year. The Senate Finance Committee-approved version of H.R. 4 included provisions that would have (1) increased funding for the CSE access and visitation program; (2) designatedIndian tribes and tribal organizations as persons authorized to have access to information in theFederal Parent Locator Service; and (3) required states to adopt a later version of the UniformInterstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) so as to facilitate the collection of child support paymentsin interstate cases.
During the 108th Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate Finance Committee approved two different versions of a bill that would have reauthorized and revised the TemporaryAssistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant. This legislation, H.R. 4 , alsoincluded many changes to the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program. H.R. 4 waspassed by the House in February 2003. The Senate Finance Committee reported a substitute versionof the bill in September 2003 ( S.Rept. 108-162 ). On March 29-April 1, 2004, the Senate debatedH.R. 4; disagreement arose regarding amendments to the bill, and Republicans failed topass a motion to limit debate. H.R. 4 was not passed by the Senate.
Although not identical, both versions of H.R. 4 were similar in focus, direction, and content with respect to the CSE provisions. Both versions of H.R. 4 includedprovisions that sought to improve the CSE program and raise collections so as to increase theeconomic independence of former welfare families and provide a stable source of income for allsingle-parent families with a noncustodial parent. Both versions of the bill provided incentives (inthe form of federal cost sharing) to states to direct more of the child support collected on behalf offamilies to the families themselves, thereby reducing the amount that state and federal governmentsretain (often referred to as a family-first policy). Under both bills, families currently receiving TANFbenefits as well as former TANF recipients would have potentially received a larger share of childsupport that was collected on their behalf.
The approach used by the bills differed significantly, however, with regard to how states would help TANF families receive more child support. Under the House-passed bill, states would havebeen given federal cost sharing incentives to encourage states to increase (or establish) the amountof child support payments they pass through to TANF families (and disregard in determining TANFbenefits). The Senate Finance Committee version of the bill provided federal cost-sharing for theentire amount that the state disregards and passes through to families. Moreover, the House-passedbill provided a more limited amount of federal cost sharing for state pass-through and disregardpolicies than the Senate Finance Committee bill.
Both versions of the bill would have revised some CSE enforcement tools and added others; increased funding for the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS); increased funding for federaltechnical assistance to the states; required states to review child support orders of TANF familiesevery three years; and required that a report be submitted to Congress on undistributed child supportcollections. The House-passed bill included a provision that would have established a $25 annualuser fee for individuals who had never been on TANF but received CSE services and who receivedat least $500 in any given year. The Senate Finance Committee-approved bill included provisionsthat would have increased funding for the CSE access and visitation program; and required statesto adopt a later version of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) so as to facilitate thecollection of child support payments in interstate cases. This report will not be updated.