Bill Details
S.230 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-01-23 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced Date
2025-01-23
Policy Area
Families
Committees
View committees (1)
Sponsors
Cosponsors
View cosponsors (9)
- Sen. Banks, Jim [R-Indiana]
- Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-Tennessee]
- Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-Alabama]
- Sen. Daines, Steve [R-Montana]
- Sen. Hoeven, John [R-North Dakota]
- Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-Mississippi]
- Sen. Lankford, James [R-Oklahoma]
- Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-Kansas]
- Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-Mississippi]
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AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would change federal child support rules so states could collect and enforce child support for an unborn child, starting before birth and continuing after birth. It would let a mother ask for support during pregnancy, and it allows payments to begin as early as the month conception is determined to have happened. The bill also says support can be collected later if paternity is proven after the child is born. A court would set the payment amount and consult with the mother, while any steps to prove paternity would require the mother’s consent and could not be used if they might harm the unborn child.
- States would have to include unborn children in their child support plans under the federal child support program.
- Support could start with the month of conception, if a physician determines that timing, and could be collected later even if fatherhood is confirmed after birth.
- A court would decide how much support is owed, taking the mother’s input into account and considering the best interests of the mother and child.
- Any paternity testing or other steps to establish fatherhood for an unborn child would need the mother’s consent and could not be done if they might harm the unborn child.
Official Summaries
Unborn Child Support Act
This bill requires states to apply child support obligations to the time period during pregnancy. This requirement is applicable retroactively based on a court order at the request of the pregnant parent and a determination by a physician of the month during which the child was conceived. Existing state requirements are applicable to these obligations, such as proof of parenthood.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 230 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 230
To amend part D of title IV of the Social Security Act to ensure that
child support for unborn children is collected and distributed under
the child support enforcement program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 23, 2025
Mr. Cramer (for himself, Mr. Banks, Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs. Britt, Mr.
Daines, Mr. Hoeven, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Marshall, and
Mr. Wicker) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend part D of title IV of the Social Security Act to ensure that
child support for unborn children is collected and distributed under
the child support enforcement program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Unborn Child Support Act''.
SEC. 2. CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT ON BEHALF OF UNBORN CHILDREN.
(a) State Plan Amendment.--Section 454 of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 654) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4)(A)--
(A) in clause (i)--
(i) by inserting ``, including an unborn
child,'' after ``child''; and
(ii) by inserting ``and'' after the
semicolon; and
(B) in clause (ii), by inserting ``, including an
unborn child'' after ``other child'';
(2) in paragraph (33), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(3) in paragraph (34), by striking the period and inserting
``; and'';
(4) by inserting after paragraph (34), the following:
``(35) provide that the State will establish and enforce
child support obligations of the biological father of an unborn
child (and subsequent to the birth of the child) to the mother
of such child provided that--
``(A) the mother has requested payment of such
child support obligations;
``(B) the start date for such obligations may begin
with the first month in which the child was conceived,
as determined by a physician (and shall begin with that
month if the mother so requests);
``(C) payments for such obligations may be
retroactively collected or awarded, including in the
case where paternity is established subsequent to the
birth of the child;
``(D) the payment amount for such obligations shall
be determined by a court, in consultation with the
mother, taking into account the best interests of the
mother and child;
``(E) any measure to establish the paternity of a
child (born or unborn) shall not be required without
the consent of the mother; and
``(F) any measure to establish the paternity of an
unborn child shall not be taken if the measure poses
any risk of harm to the child if unborn.''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following: ``For purposes of
paragraphs (4) and (35), the term `unborn child' means a member
of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who
is carried in the womb.''
(b) Limitation of Waiver Authority.--Section 1115 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1315) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by striking ``In the case of'' and inserting ``Except as
provided in subsection (c), in the case of'';
(2) in subsection (b)(1), in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by striking ``In the case of'' and inserting
``Except as provided in subsection (c), in the case of''; and
(3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
``(c) No experimental, pilot, or demonstration project undertaken
under subsection (a) to assist in promoting the objectives of part D of
title IV, may permit modifications of paragraphs (4)(A)(ii) and (35) of
section 454 to establish and enforce child support obligations of the
biological father of an unborn child. For purposes of the preceding
sentence, the term `unborn child' means a member of the species homo
sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this
Act and shall apply to payments under part D of title IV of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) for calendar quarters beginning on
or after such date.
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