The Last Hurrah on HB933 and three excellent articles
D'Arcy L McGreer
Note: I know this is a long message but please try and read it to the end. Thanks.
A last Hurrah for us to oppose HB933 is to contact the Governor. He has 7 days from the day he gets a bill to react to the bill by signing it into law or veto the whole bill or a line item veto of parts of the bill or to amend the bill. If he does anything to a bill except sign it into law, it will be sent back to the General Assembly about 2 months from now in which they have to react by overriding his veto or/and accepting any amendments to the bill. This gives us an opportunity to do some more educating of the legislatures.
When does the Governor act on legislation sent to him. He has seven days from the day he gets the bill to react. When does he get HB933? I am not sure but according the tracking of this bill link below the last date given for the Senate and house is 3/3/14. HB933 tracking: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?141+sum+HB933.
Does that mean we only have 6 days from now to communicate with the governor about HB933? I am not sure. My guess is no, If he does not get the bills until after 8th, the end of the General Assembly, then we have seven days from the 8th. Calendar or business days? Do not know. To be on the safe side we need to contact the governor in this 6 day time frame.
You can get contact information for the governor at this web link: https://governor.virginia.gov/about/contact-us. You will notice that you can send him a message on the governors web page or call him or write to him. When you go to the email page there will be items you should fill out about yourself so the governor’s office knows you are a Virginia resident and can vote. The topic to pick will be either “General” or “Health and Human Resources, Secretary.” That is confusing. Which should you pick for the topic. I suggest the Secretary because that department is responsible for child support. But, I do not think that will make a difference. What is important that in the subject line there is the phrase “HB933.” The subject could be “Veto HB933” or “Amend HB933” or “Use Line item Veto on HB933.” The next block is where you input your reasons and arguments and any links to articles to support your subject line. I suggest you produce the document first in your word processor. Correct it for grammar and spelling in your word processor and then copy it into the “message box.” Since this message box may not allow you to input too much text, I think it is a good idea to submit several communications through this website.
Three recent excellent Articles:
When you give your reasons in the message box to the governor you can reference, or quote or give links to excellent articles that can give you credibility in your statements about HB933. I have already sent previous messages about excellent articles and documents that you could use in your communication with your legislatures. You can use these same articles when you contact the governor. An example of two excellent documents noted in earlier FFV Google messages that I remember are those produced by Fred Hawkins and Hans Bader.
But, I wish to bring to your attention three more articles that have been sent to me in the last week. I have read all of them and they contain excellent information, facts and citations that you could use in contacting the Governor.
John Swallow and Ronald Henry brought this article to my attention:
“How Anti-Poverty Programs Marginalize Fathers,” by Elizabeth Stuart. “Based on decades-old stereotypes that unmarried dads are “deadbeats,” the majority of welfare programs almost exclusively serve women and children.” Feb 25 2014, 8:02 AM ET. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/02/how-anti-poverty-programs-marginalize-fathers/283984/.
Ronald Henry provided the quotes below to the above article that you can use in your communication with the Governor.
“Based on decades-old stereotypes that single mothers are raising children alone and single dads are “deadbeats,” the majority of United States anti-poverty programs almost exclusively serve women and children, said Jacquelyn Boggess, co-director of the Center for Family Policy and Practice, a Wisconsin-based think tank that focuses on supporting low-income parents. The welfare system, as a result, can become a muddled mess of rearranging rather than relieving poverty. Single, non-custodial fathers bear the brunt……”
“More aggressive child support enforcement was a key component of welfare reform in the 1990s, said Boggess, of the family-policy center. Because the welfare system was designed to act as a sort of “surrogate husband” to single mothers, the government looked to fathers as a way to get people off the dole, she said….”
“Now, men across the country owe $111 billion in unpaid child support, according to the Office of Child Support Enforcement. Many have racked up debts in the tens of thousands, Boggess said. But most, like Frandy, make less than $10,000 a year. “These men can’t pay,” she said….”
“Even if a man can come up with the cash, it may not benefit his children, said Kristin Harknett, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania. If a woman receives government cash assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, any money her children’s father contributes is earmarked to pay back the government….”
“In some ways, child-support enforcement is actually having a negative effect on children, Harknett said. Mothers often keep fathers from spending time with their children to encourage them to pay up. Many fathers go underground to avoid doing jail time for falling into arrears. Often, as in Frandy’s case, other impoverished family members pick up the bill. “Basically we give money to one poor person, and then we find the nearest poor person connected to that child and ask for it back,” Harknett said….”
David Smith Sr from Maryland brought this article to my attention: “Families thrive when dads are free to parent their way.” By Allyson Tomchin, LCSW, February 21, 2014. A woman licensed social worker who writes how men as fathers are unique and different than woman in raising children and children benefit from this uniqueness of men as fathers. This article counteracts the basic idea that children really do not need fathers. The question is will HB933 help or hinder children getting that input from their fathers that they need? http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/south-florida-parenting/newsletter/sfp-families-thrive-when-dads-are-free-to-parent-their-way-20140221%2c0%2c4290680.story.
Finally the pièce de résistance of these three articles to use to communicate to the Governor why HB933 will be bad law is, “When child support becomes extortion, families lose,” by Stephen Baskerville, MARCH 3, 2014 in the Washington Examiner. http://washingtonexaminer.com/when-child-support-becomes-extortion-families-lose/article/2544942. You could input the link to this article or reference it when you write to or speak to the governor about HB933. I like how Stephen gives links to articles that back up what he writes. An example is below:
“For these reasons, Virginia child support, like that of most other states, is crushingly high. “Child support guidelines currently in use typically generate awards that are much higher than would be the case if based on economically sound cost concepts,” writes economist Mark Rogers, who served on the Georgia Commission on Child Support.”
“The Urban Institute reports that unpaid support accrues because “orders are set too high relative to ability to pay.” Federal officials have admitted that their figures on unpaid support are based on awards that are beyond parents’ means.”
Finally about these articles: These articles and the others already brought to your attention can be used to educate your legislatures and others about Child support and the perverse incentives to destroy families and eject fathers out of their families.
Sender of this message: D’Arcy L McGreer, Cell: 703-389-4496. 2200 Wilsom Blvd, Ste 102 – 271, Arlington, VA 22201-3324. FFV website: http://www.virginiafathers.org/. Reply to fathe...@gmail.com.