H.R. 4859: Child Support Improvement Act of 2004

108th Congress · introduced 2004-07-19 · Social Welfare · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2004-07-19 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Kennedy, Mark R. [R-MN-6] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Child Support Improvement Act of 2004

Plain summary

Child Support Improvement Act of 2004 - Amends parts A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) and D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) modify the rule requiring assignment of support rights as a condition of receiving TANF; (2) increase child support payments to families; (3) revise child support distribution rules; (4) ban the recovery of Medicaid (SSA title XIX) costs for the birth of children for whom support rights have been assigned; and (5) change from mandatory to discretionary the authority of States to retain certain support rights assignments after a certain date (thus giving them the option to discontinue such assignments), and allow to remain assigned any rights assigned before enactment of this Act to a State to support obligations accruing before the date a family first receives TANF (thus giving States the option to discontinue such assignments). Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to provide for: (1) a decrease in the amount of child support arrearage triggering passport denial; (2) use of the tax refund intercept program to collect past-due child support on behalf of children who are not minors; (3) garnishment of compensation paid to veterans for service-connected disabilities in order to enforce child support obligations; and (4) revised interstate enforcement. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to specified congressional committees on the procedures States use to locate custodial parents for whom child support has been collected but not yet distributed. Provides for the use of new hire information to assist in the administration of unemployment compensation programs under SSA title IV part D. Amends Federal money and finance law to modify Federal debt collection practices. Amends SSA title IV part D to provide for the maintenance of technical assistance and Federal Parent Locator Service funding. Provides for the electronic disbursement of child support payments to families. Allows States to expand their State disbursement unit to create a centralized payment location for all child support wage withholding. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to implement the medical support performance measure developed under the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998. Prohibits the Secretary from requiring the State of Texas to apply for a waiver from applicable requirements to continue to operate the State's program for monitoring and enforcement of a child support court order without the necessity of a written application.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Child Support Improvement Act of 2004

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Kennedy, Mark R. [R-MN-6] · 4 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Pete Sessions (R-TX)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Obligation: A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-108hr4859.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/108/hr>

Record fed-us-cong108-hr4859 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong108 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong108