Poliquin, Ellison Introduce the Child Support Assistance Act Backed by Equifax
WASHINGTON, April 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Representatives Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) introduced H.R. 2091, the Child Support Assistance Act of 2015, which has been largely championed by consumer reporting agency, Equifax (NYSE: EFX) and the National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA). The bill is an effort to help state and local child support enforcement agencies (Agencies) aid families in collecting child support payments, and Equifax is working to provide new and improved tools to facilitate that.
The original language of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) causes confusion among Agencies around when it is appropriate to obtain a consumer report in order to assist with efforts to locate a delinquent parent and enforce an appropriate level for child support payments. Further, current law mandates that Agencies provide the delinquent, non-custodial parent a 10-day notice prior to requesting a consumer report – giving the delinquent parent ample time to manipulate his or her financial situation in order to dodge payment. This can delay child support payments and add a cost to states, as all such notices must be sent by certified or registered mail.
The Child Support Assistance Act will fix these issues by amending the FCRA to remove the 10-day notice requirement. Additionally, the bill will provide much needed clarity and consistency in how Agencies request consumer reports to set, modify and enforce child support awards.
"Our goal at Equifax is to provide up-to-date income and employment information to Agencies so they can more easily obtain payment where payment is due," said Debra Rohlman, Vice President of Verifications Services, Equifax. "This legislation will ultimately benefit children, struggling parents who depend on child support, and the Agencies that work tirelessly on behalf of families to ensure that payments are honored."
Kathy Sokolik, President of the National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA) stated, "Removing the 10-day notice requirement will provide more effectiveness and efficiencies for employers, child support agencies and, most importantly, will get money to families faster."
"Being a parent is one of the greatest and most important responsibilities as an adult," said Rep. Poliquin. "It's imperative for Congress, Republicans and Democrats, to work together to ensure that our kids have all the possible opportunities to succeed and have a bright future. The Child Support Assistance Act will help our state and local authorities in assisting families to collect child support payments from delinquent parents."
"Thousands of low-income kids and their families rely on child support to pay for clothes, school supplies, and trips to the doctor." Rep. Ellison said. "This bill would make it less expensive for states to collect delinquent child support payments and easier for consumer reporting agencies to help them do it. We need to make sure the money from child support is actually supporting the parents and the children who depend on it."
About Equifax
Equifax is a global leader in consumer, commercial and workforce information solutions that provides businesses of all sizes and consumers with insight and information they can trust. Equifax organizes and assimilates data on more than 600 million consumers and 81 million businesses worldwide. The company's significant investments in differentiated data, its expertise in advanced analytics to explore and develop new multi-source data solutions, and its leading-edge proprietary technology enables it to create and deliver unparalleled customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Equifax operates or has investments in 19 countries and is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index. Its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. In 2014, Equifax was nominated as a Bloomberg BusinessWeek Top 50 company; its CIO was listed as one of the top 100 by CIO magazine; and the company was named to the Fintech 100 list, was recognized as a top 20 company to work for by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and was named a 2014 InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner. For more information, please visit www.equifax.com.
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SOURCE Equifax Inc.
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