"We are expanding a commonsense practice that has been proven effective at getting those who owe child support to pay their debt. Once these parents resolve their debts, they can once again enjoy the privilege of a U.S. passport."
"Until this week, only those who applied to renew their passports were subject to the penalty. Under the new policy, HHS will inform the State Department of all past-due payments of more than $2,500 and parents in that group with passports will have their documents revoked."
"Since the AP reported the expansion of the program on Feb. 10, the department said it had seen data that hundreds of parents took action and resolved their arrears with state authorities since news broke that the State Department would start proactively revoking passports."
The State Department began revoking passports of parents with significant unpaid child support obligations starting Friday, initially targeting approximately 2,700 passport holders owing $100,000 or more. The program will expand to include parents owing more than $2,500 under a 1996 law. Previously, only those renewing passports faced this penalty; now the State Department will proactively revoke passports based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services. Officials report the policy has proven effective, with hundreds of parents resolving arrears after the expansion was announced in February. Parents can regain passport privileges once they resolve their child support debts.
Read at ABC13 Houston
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