SEND THE  LETTER BELOW TO YOUR LOCAL PAPERS OPPOSING HR 1488.  SIMPLY SELECT THE TEXT OF THE LETTER BELOW, COPY IT, THEN GO TO OUR ANCPR MEDIA CENTER, ENTER YOUR ZIP CODE, SELECT THE PAPERS YOU WISH TO SEND THE LETTER TO, AND PASTE THE LETTER INTO THE BOX PROVIDED, OR WRITE YOUR OWN.

Attention: Letters to the Editor

HR 1488, the Hyde-Woolsey Act recently introduced in Congress is a misguided attempt to increase child support collections from so-called "Deadbeat Parents." This act would turn over the collection of child support to the IRS. Aside from the constitutional questions this proposal represents, this act ignores a crucial fact: the primary reason for non-payment of child support is the inability of the obligor to pay due to illness, unemployment or unintentional under-employment.

 

Uncollected child support will continue to be a problem until Congress faces up to the real problem. Child support guidelines are too high, and due process rights are not observed with regard to the modification of support obligations in the face of the changing circumstances of the obligated parent. In addition, child support needs to be tied to parental access in order to guarantee that all children have an ongoing and meaningful relationship with both of their parents.