On this 4th day of June 2002 the National Council of Child Support Directors resolves that:
* Congress amend federal law to lower the arrears threshold criteria for inclusion in the Passport Denial Program from $5,000 to $2,500.
* The U.S. Department of State Passport Services implement procedures for the immediate revocation of passports for those delinquent noncustodial parents who exceed the threshold in arrearages owed.
The Passport Denial Program has proven to be an effective enforcement tool in cases where substantial child support arrears are owed. There are currently an estimated three million child support obligors certified to the Passport Denial Program due to child support arrearages. A recent study by the Department of State determined that an average of sixty passports are denied daily due to delinquent child support. The Office of Child Support Enforcement has estimated that, if the threshold were lowered to $2,500 in child support arrears, an additional 1.2 million obligors would be eligible for inclusion in the Passport Denial Program. Additionally, as passports are presently issued for 10 years, many noncustodial parent obtain passports, and then accrue a delinquency that should lead to revocation, but does not, as the U.S. Department of State has not implemented procedures for immediate revocation of passports.
* Passport Denial is a cost effective tool in difficult cases involving self-employed obligors and obligors with sources of income that states have not been able to reach through income withholding. There are numerous reported cases where obligors have made lump sum payments in excess of $20,000, $30,000, or, in one reported case, $100,000. States report dozens of cases of obligors having large arrearages who are able to suddenly produce full payment, upon notification that their passports will be revoked or not renewed. This enforcement tool hits the most egregious child support evader - the person who has the money to support his or her children, but simply chooses not to, while engaging in international travel for business or personal reasons.
* OCSE estimates that the Passport Denial Program has resulted in payments of more than $13 million in lump sum payments toward past-due child support. In addition, numerous previously delinquent child support obligors now make regular child support payments through income withholding and payment plans, with the result that long-term compliance is improved
* The current threshold for inclusion in the Passport Denial Program is child support arrears that exceed $5,000. The National Council of Child Support Directors supports lowering the arrears threshold for submittal to the program to $2,500.
* While the program has been extremely successful by using the provision for denial of passports, it could be significantly more effective by fully implementing the provisions for passport revocation and limitation. The Federal statute already includes such provisions but the U.S. Department of State has not put in place a procedure for immediate revocation. They have revoked passports if the passport is in hand, such as for a name change, or to have pages added to the passport, but have not put a procedure in place for immediate revocation. With existing state of the art technology, procedures could be implemented to link the U.S. Department data base with automated systems in place at U.S. Airports which would allow the passport to be checked for a child support debt, and seized if appropriate.