Tulsa Standard

Representative Kevin Hern's (OK-01) bipartisan Strengthening State and Tribal Child Support Enforcement Act (HR 7906) passed the Ways and Means Committee with a unanimous vote.

Rep. Hern introduced this bill with original co-sponsors Representatives Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11), Gwen Moore (D-WI-04), David Schweikert (R-AZ-01), and Darin LaHood (R-IL-16).

HR 7906 prevents changes in an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement action that would block state child support agencies from utilizing contractors for the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program. Were they to take effect, these changes would greatly disrupt states’ ability to administer child support payments through the CSE program, which serves nearly 13 million families and 18 percent of all children in the U.S. The bill would also provide parity for Tribes operating child support enforcement programs.

In his prepared remarks, Rep. Hern expressed gratitude towards Chairman Smith for holding the markup session and including two of his bills, H.R.8921 and H.R. 7906. He also thanked his colleagues Reps. DelBene and Moore for their leadership on H.R. 7906.

"Child support enforcement is not a partisan issue; it’s the right thing for Congress to do, and this fix was also seen in President Biden’s 2025 budget," Hern stated.

Hern shared personal experiences highlighting the importance of child support enforcement: "I’ve spoken on this committee many times before about my childhood, stuck in poverty thanks to a step-dad who was unwilling to work or provide for the family."

He emphasized that every child deserves resources to grow up in a healthy, stable home: "All kids deserve the resources to grow up in a healthy, stable home, and this piece of legislation will make that goal easier for millions of families to reach."

The bill aims to allow tribes who run their own child support enforcement programs access to the Treasury Offset Program. Under this program, when a non-custodial parent is due a refund but owes past-due child support, Treasury can withhold the tax refund and send it to the state child support agency.

Currently, no tribes are allowed access to this program, putting tribal families at a disadvantage when collecting past-due child support. "This bill will fix that," Hern said.

Oklahoma has 38 federally recognized tribes, ten of which run their own child support enforcement agencies. Hern mentioned hearing from tribes about the burdens they face when collecting past-due child support.

"This bill will help tribes efficiently run their child support enforcement programs," he added. Additionally, states will be allowed to continue using third-party contractors for their programs.

Without this legislative fix, states risk having to bring all services in-house at significant cost while pausing payments to millions of families—a potentially devastating outcome according to Hern.

"We cannot let this happen to our families," he concluded as he urged colleagues' support for both HR 7906 and the larger child welfare package under consideration.

Key Background

The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program is essential for millions of families across the country. In 2022 alone, it collected over $27 billion from non-custodial parents—$5 collected for every $1 spent on administration costs—serving nearly 12.7 million families nationwide.

Tribes need equitable access similar to states regarding enforcement tools like the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program used for collecting past-due support. Currently, Tribes must contract with states due to lack of direct access—a situation exacerbated by recent IRS policy changes that HR 7906 aims to address permanently.