WASHINGTON — The U.S. House has approved legislation Tuesday introduced by 2nd District U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin aimed at stopping deadbeat parents from hiding assets to avoid paying child support.
The bill allows states to immediately move to freeze assets instead of having to wait ten days under current law.
"It's making sure parents are responsible for taking care of their kids as determined by the courts and it does this through a quick fix in the law," Poliquin says. "In the state of Maine alone there is over $500 million in unpaid child support that has just not been collected and nationally there is about $1 billion in uncollected child support so we know it is going on."
While the bill has passed the House, it has yet to be considered by the Senate. There is no bill in the Senate exactly like Poliquin's measure, so it may end up being considered as an amendment to another bill, or it may not be considered at all until the new year because of the number of issues stacked up in the Senate for consideration.
