(The Center Square) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Internal Revenue Service after a new policy change threatens to defund child support agencies nationwide.
On Feb. 15, child support enforcement agencies nationwide were notified by the IRS of a policy change mandating the termination of contractor access to data necessary for the administration of Title IV-D child support programs, effective Oct. 1, according to a May 25 news release.
“The Biden administration’s reckless decision to withhold billions of dollars in child support funding threatens the stability of millions of American families and puts America’s children at risk,” according to the lawsuit.
Title IV-D is a federal law that requires every state to manage a child support enforcement program. Title IV-D programs rely on contractor services to help deliver financial, medical, and dental support to more than 13.2 million children, according to the news release.
The lawsuit aims to reverse this policy.
“If agencies fail to comply, they risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal support annually,” according to the lawsuit. “Altogether, child support agencies nationwide risk losing billions of dollars in federal support.”
In Texas, contractor services supported the state’s collection of nearly $4.5 billion for 1.5 million child support cases statewide in 2022.
For more than a decade, the IRS acknowledged the need for contractor access to information in previous audits. This policy shift is not only contradictory to what the IRS has done in the past but it threatens nearly all Title IV-D child support programs, according to the news release.
Paxton said in the news release that this policy set by the Biden administration would have unfortunate consequences for millions of American children.
“Joe Biden must answer as to why his administration is trying to make it so difficult for child support enforcement agencies to do their jobs,” Paxton said.
This article First appeared in the center square