Dear Editor:
On Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2000, Governor George W. Bush appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago. This appearance was the governor’s attempt to boost his popularity with women voters. I did try to attend the show, but I was unable to do so. I wanted so much to be in the audience just to be able to ask the governor one question, “Where’s my child support Governor Bush?”
As a single mother living and working in the Chicagoland area, I have had an ongoing six year battle with the Bush administration over the collection of my child support. Sadly, there are so many holes and loop-holds in our current child support laws that it is actually easier for my ex-husband to get out of paying support than it is for me to get it enforced.
I would have brought a copy of the Texas codes with me. I had to acquire a copy simply because the Texas State Attorney’s office is prone to misquoting these codes or fabricates them completely. I would ask about Texas Code Chapter 154, Sec. 154.066-International Unemployment and Underemployment, which states if a non-custodial parent intentionally takes a lesser paying job or quits their job, child support will be assessed at what they are capable of earning. Millions of “dead-beat” dads use this practice to get out of paying child support. My ex-husband pulled it in July of this year, was granted a reduction and promptly changed jobs before the new withholding was even in place. Why does this law even exist, if, as I am told, it is impossible to prove? It exists, like so many other un-enforceable child support laws, purely to pacify women voters.
As I wait for my Illinois caseworker to receive verification of my ex-husband’ “unemployment” from the State of Texas, I can’t help but wonder about Texas Code Chapter 231, Sec. 231.002f(1), which states that a Texas agency will respond to a request from another state within five working days. It has now been over a month since this request was made, and I have been without child support for three months.
At least once a year, for six years, I have played this game with your administration. I’m tired of this game and I understand why millions of women raise their children with no support at all. I rely on this money to feed my children. My paycheck merely covers rent and utilities. When child support is late or not collected, I am forced to “steal” from my monthly budget to feed my kids and pray I have the money for that bill when it arrives.
Like so many women before me, I was finally forced to work a second job to make ends meet. When I cast my ballot on November 7, I wonder, will you have answered the question, “Where’s my child support Governor Bush?” And sadly, if I am receiving support by November, a new one will replace the old question, “How long will it last this time?”
Debra Harrison