PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.
H.R.5140 / 103rd Congress

To provide for improved procedures for the enforcement of child support obligations of members of the Armed Forces.

Executive Comment Requested from Army.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in House · Sep 30, 1994

Directs the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to establish a centralized personnel locator service that includes the addresses of each member of the armed forces. Requires addresses of members of the Coast Guard to be included upon request of the Secretary of Transportation. Requires the Secretary to update the locator service within 30 days after a listed member establishes a new address. Directs the Secretary to make such information available, upon request, to the Federal Parent Locator Service. Directs the Secretary of each military department (and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy) to prescribe regulations to facilitate the granting of leave for purposes of attending court hearings to determine either parentage or an obligation to provide child support. States that it is not necessary that the date of a certification of the authenticity or completeness of a copy of a court order for child support received by the Secretary concerned (such support to be paid through the retired pay of the member involved) be recent. Allows the Secretary concerned to make required child support payments to a State when a spouse or former spouse assigns to a State the right to receive support. Empowers the Secretary concerned to pay child support arrearages through the disposable retired pay of the responsible member.

Read the summary on Congress.gov
PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

Who introduced it

Rep. Skelton, Ike [D-MO-4] · D–MO

Committees

  • Armed Services Committee
  • Armed Services Committee
13 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

  1. Executive Comment Requested from Army.

  2. Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Installations and Facilities.

  3. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

  4. Received in the Senate.

  5. Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

  6. On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.

  7. Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.

  8. Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H10918)

  9. At the conclusion of debate, the chair put the question on the motion to suspend the rules. Mr. Walker objected to the vote on the grounds that a quorum was not present. Further proceedings on the motion were postponed until Oct. 5. The point of no quorum was withdrawn.

  10. DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate.

  11. Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H10785-10787)

  12. Mr. Skelton moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.

  13. Executive Comment Requested from DOD.

  14. Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Forces and Personnel.

  15. Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

  16. Introduced in House

  17. Introduced in House

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.

Source last updated: Jun 6, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

Explore the bill from different angles

Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.

Neutral evidence review

Objective

Analyze H.R.5140 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

Examine H.R.5140 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope

Conservative lens

Examine H.R.5140 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

Examine H.R.5140 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

View full prompt & sources