THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                          (New York, New York)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  September 7, 2000

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

I commend the House of Representatives for its broad bipartisan approval today of the Child Support Distribution Act. Vice President Gore and I are committed to promoting responsible fatherhood and making sure more child support goes directly to children, and this bill is an important step toward achieving these goals.

This legislation, which is similar in many ways to my Administration's child support budget proposals, allows states to pass through more child support payments directly to families and simplifies child support distribution rules. Like our "Fathers Work/Families Win" initiative, this bill also provides grants to help low-income fathers and families work, pay child support, and reconnect with their children. These initiatives build on our long-standing commitment to strengthen the role of fathers in their children's lives.

I encourage the Senate to take up this important legislation this year, and I look forward to working with the Congress across party lines to ensure that more fathers can honor their responsibilities and more children can receive both the emotional and financial support they need.

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