WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax (NYSE: EFX) today hailed passage of the Child Support Assistance Act of 2015 by the U.S. House of Representatives as an important milestone for America's children and a major advancement for state and local child support enforcement agencies responsible for collecting child support payments.

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Equifax, a global leader in consumer, commercial and workforce information solutions, has long championed the legislation that was passed yesterday by the House. The bill was introduced late last month into the Senate. If the legislation passes the Senate, the bill would move to the White House, where President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into law.

The new law would assist government agencies that collect child support by amending the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to remove an onerous 10-day notice requirement in which the delinquent, non-custodial parent had to be notified in advance of requesting a consumer report - giving the delinquent parent ample time to manipulate his or her financial situation in order to dodge payment.

This requirement often delayed child support payments and added a cost to states, as all such notices must be sent by certified or registered mail. Additionally, the new law will provide much needed clarity and consistency in how agencies request consumer reports to set, modify and enforce child support awards.

"This is a giant step forward for the nation's children and struggling parents who depend on child support payments, as well as for the agencies that work on their behalf," said Debra Rohlman, Vice President of Verification Services at Equifax. "We look forward to the Senate taking action in the near future, because with this law Equifax will be able to provide up-to-date income and employment information to agencies so they can more easily obtain payment where payment is due."

About Equifax
Equifax is a global leader in consumer, commercial and workforce information solutions that provides businesses of all sizes and consumers with insight and information they can trust. Equifax organizes and assimilates data on more than 600 million consumers and 81 million businesses worldwide. The company's significant investments in differentiated data, its expertise in advanced analytics to explore and develop new multi-source data solutions, and its leading-edge proprietary technology enables it to create and deliver unparalleled customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Equifax operates or has investments in 19 countries and is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index. Its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. In 2014, Equifax was nominated as a Bloomberg BusinessWeek Top 50 company; its CIO was listed as one of the top 100 by CIO magazine; and the company was named to the Fintech 100 list, was recognized as a top 20 company to work for by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and was named a 2014 InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner. For more information, please visit www.equifax.com.

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SOURCE Equifax Inc.