Friday, May 08, 1998

Senator Dianne Feinstein
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

RE: HR 3811 Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act (Passed to Senate)

Dear Senator Boxer,

On May 13, 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate HR 3811, the Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act. This is a misguided bill that deserves defeat.

Punitive measures like those demanded by H.R. 3811 will never solve the challenges faced by children of divorce and those born out of wedlock. These children don't need money, they need parental involvement. Of all the determinants of child well being, parental involvement is undoubtedly the most important factor. Yet H.R. 3811 would condemn otherwise decent parents to jail for their failure to pay what are many times absolutely unreasonable child support orders. How does sending a parent to jail benefit a child? How does sending a parent to jail increase parental involvement?

Despite increasing efforts by the Office of Child Support Enforcement, including numerous measures that make a mockery of our Constitution, the ratio of child support collected to the cost of collecting it has actually increased. This means that it costs more today to collect child support than it did ten years ago, before the recent spate of draconian enforcement measures were enacted. The supporters of H.R. 3811 and other punitive enforcement laws argue that increasing the pressure on child support obligated parents would result in greater collections. However, what these people fail to recognize is that the overwhelming evidence, much of it generated by the GAO, indicates that most of the uncollected child support remains uncollected because of one reason: the inability (due to a lack of income) of the obligor to pay it.

These arrearages happen, not as a result of the refusal of owing parents to pay, but to the complete failure of our system of Family Law to adapt itself to modern economic realities. Child support orders are extremely difficult to modify and modification hearings are often delayed for months, resulting in huge arrears. Yet arrears are not modifiable. If H.R. 3811 becomes law, millions of parents could be only one layoff away from federal prison. If the primary reason for most arrears is the inability to pay, and if we know that the greatest need faced by children of single family homes is the parental involvement of both parents, how does sending a child's parent, to what amounts to a debtor's prison increase parental involvement?

The prevailing myth upon which laws like HR 3811 are based is that it is possible for one parent to raise a child. According to the special interest proponents of bills like H.R. 3811 and other related legislation, all it takes to create healthy and well-adjusted children is more money and more government social service. Who is behind this agenda? The most prominent are the radical feminists of the National Organization of Women who purport to represent all women but who in fact represent only a small minority.

Repeatedly, every attempt by sincere and honest parents to institute shared parenting and joint custody for divorced or never married parents has been undermined by these anti-family special interests. The result, nearly a third of our nation's children are now raised in a single parent home, losing all touch with their other parent, most often the father. This legislation also negatively impacts second wives and their families, in addition to extended families such as grandparents and aunts and uncles.

Our children have a right to an ongoing and meaningful relationship with both of their parents. This is true regardless of whether those parents are married, divorced, or have never been married. Every child has both a mother and a father, and both of these parents must share parental duties if our children are to grow into well-adjusted productive citizens.

Family Law in America is in critical need of fundamental reform. Laws that turn parents into criminals are anti-family and hurtful to children. It's time we placed the emphasis where it belongs: increase parental involvement, not money. Pass legislation that institutes shared parenting, with 50/50 joint custody except in cases where there is a conviction for abuse or molestation. Eliminate the completely out-dated gender biases in Family Law, making sure that children grow up with both of their parents input. Our children deserve it.

Sincerely,

John Smith

John Smith, ANCPR