Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Panel Witnesses Tell of Runaway Fathers

The House Judiciary subcommittee on crime and criminal justice heard poignant testimony from three mothers who have struggled for years to find runaway fathers and make them pay child support. The hearing was called to advance a bill that would make it a federal crime to flee across state lines to avoid making payments. The women told similar stories about tracking errant ex-husbands for as many as 15 years. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.), would provide a fine of up to $5,000 or six months in prison for first-time offenders. “What these fathers do to the families they run away from is truly criminal,” said one of the mothers, Cheryl Walker of Lombard, Ill.