Clinton turns to gaming to collect support

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000 | 11:50 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- One day before his State of the Union address, President Clinton today unveiled a plan to seize gambling winnings from deadbeat dads to pay child support.

The proposal was part of a larger "responsible fatherhood" initiative released by the White House.

Under the plan casino officials would be required to complete child support verification at the same time that they are making federal tax arrangements with the winners.

Clinton's budget for fiscal 2001 will contain a proposal. The White House estimates that this maneuver alone could bring in $348 million over five years.

It would apply to winnings through casinos, dog racing, jai alai or keno, Reed said. It would not apply to winnings from lotteries, which already are covered under current law.

The gaming industry and Nevada's members of Congress expressed initial skepticism to the proposal.

"Deadbeat dads ought to pay their child support, no ifs, ands or buts," Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., said. "But this proposal raises some concerns. What would the burden be on the casinos? Are there databases available? How is it going to work?"

American Gaming Association President Frank Fahrenkopf said casinos could become ensnared in a sticky process and privacy dilemmas as they keep tabs on whether winners owe child support.

"I think clearly everyone in our industry shares the goal of the president in making sure deadbeat parents live up to their responsibilities to their children," Fahrenkopf said as the proposal surfaced this morning. "I can envision facing some real administrative and possible constitutional problems with the proposal."

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said today he didn't find the Clinton proposal "overwhelmingly objectionable," but he also said he was concerned that the plan would put too much responsibility on the casinos to police winners.

It might be difficult for casinos to get up-to-date child support information, he added.

States and counties already keep tabs on deadbeat dads and garnish wages, he said.

"I see some pitfalls," Gibbons said. "I don't want to impose an unfair responsibility on the gaming industry." Laura Chapin, spokeswoman for Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said the proposal doesn't yet answer how Nevada casinos could seize money from someone who owes child support in another state.

"It seems to be somewhat duplicative of what the IRS already does," Chapin said. "And it seems to be targeting a single industry to do this." Berkley was on her way back to Washington today from a trip in New York City and could not be reached for further comment.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., today declined immediate comment.

The gambling provision is one of several items in Clinton's budget seeking to collect $2 billion in back child support in the next five years. The largest amount, $1.2 billion, is expected to come through streamlining of rules governing distribution of child support to ensure that more of the money goes directly to families.

Besides collecting gambling purses, the remainder of the child support payments were to be gathered through efforts from booting the cars of delinquent parents to providing funds to help unemployed fathers who could support their children if they had jobs.

"We view this as the next big step in welfare reform," said Bruce Reed, Clinton's domestic policy adviser. "We've put mothers to work, but they shouldn't bear the whole burden. Fathers should go to work and support their children as well."

The president's budget plan sets aside $125 million for one year to assist 40,000 low-income non-custodial parents -- primarily fathers -- in finding work, meeting support payments and re-establishing relationships with their children. The program builds on $350 million in fatherhood initiatives operating under welfare-to-work efforts at the Labor Department.

The White House was announcing the child support initiative today, as new data was being released showing child support collections nearly doubled between 1992 and 1999, from $8 billion to $15.5 billion. About $1.3 billion of that money was collected by withholding federal income tax refunds, the White House said. The rest came from steps such as garnishing wages, seizing bank accounts and capturing driver's or other licenses.

Under the simplified collection rules, states would be given incentives if they allow custodial parents to keep all the child support paid for their children if they leave welfare, or keep up to $100 a month if they are in the process of leaving welfare for work.

Other methods Clinton is proposing for collecting child support include:

A pilot program in Virginia successfully collected an average of $5,000 from each delinquent parent. The White House estimated this would allow states to collect $183 million over five years.

This would tighten a current program under which passport applications or renewals are rejected for parents who are $5,000 in arrears. The White House estimated it would generate $36 million in additional child support payments.