Bush Wages War on the American Families

It wasn't good enough that President Bush waged war on several countries in his time in office, but has now chosen to attack the citizens of his own country. Not just any citizens, but the children of the United States of America. Due to the President's Federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, children around the country are going to suffer and some families aren't even aware of it. This is felt around the country, and in the state of Colorado the children are going to pay due to the Child Support Enforcement Agency federal budget cuts.

As part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Child Support Enforcement was part of the group of "entitlement programs" whose funding became at risk. The so-called "entitlement programs" included Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and other social programs, which under the act were supposed to have their budgets "restrained" in order to pay down the national debt. According to the White House's Office of the Press Secretary in the February 8th, 2006 release, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 "includes a $1 billion increase in child care funding, as well as new grants to support healthy marriages and responsible fatherhood". Obviously "responsible fatherhood" doesn't include aiding in the collection of child support money.

The Federal government left the individual states in charge of their budgets, and have left the responsibility of funding solely at the discretion of the states. In the state of Colorado, the Colorado Department of Human Services is now sending out notices that the custodial parent will pay $25 per year for the enforcement of child support orders, when you received more than $500 per year. John Bernhart, the State of Colorado's Child Support director stated that, "In essence, collecting from the non-custodial parent amounted as a practical measure to have the state pay, and in the case of Colorado, that was not a fiscally possible option". It is recommended that you check with your state regarding new policies if you are collecting child support for any of your children.

The custodial parent will have to pay a fee to have a court order enforced in Colorado. This is money that is taken away from the children that need the support. What's next, is a victim granted restitution going to have to pay for their judgments to be enforced, despite the fact that they are, in fact, the victim? This is wrong, plain and simple. If you pay taxes you should not have to pay anymore than you already do to have the law enforced. If "responsible" parenthood was in the Act, the federal government is sure going about this the wrong way! So, while the American working parent is paying out of pocket to have the law enforced to collect their child support, they can think about the billions of dollars that are being spent every month to pay for a war the majority of the country wants to end.