Politics on the Hudson

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, said more than 200,000 single parents across the state could be forced to pay a financial penalty just for receiving child support.

So Gillibrand has introduced legislation to eliminate the penalty which is a remnant of the Deficit Reduction Act, passed by the Republican Congress and signed into law by President Bush in 2005. That legislation contained a provision requiring states to enact a $25 fee on child support enforcement payments that it collects for single parents.

“While $25 may not sound like a lot of money, for hardworking parents trying to bear the economic recession it can make a big difference,” she said. “For a single parent on a budget, $25 is more than a week’s worth of lunches, diapers or baby formula.”

In the Hudson Valley there are 23,856 single parents who could be forced to pay the penalty this year, Gillibrand said. Of that number 7,541 live in Westchester County, 3,147 live in Rockland and 981 live in Putnam.