Obama plans of child support payment rules for prisoners read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/1263-obama-plans-of-child-support-payment-rules-for-prisoners

The regulatory changes, if put in place, would give President Barack Obama something more to show for his efforts to reform the U.S. criminal justice system, a legacy issue for the Democrat whose time in office ends on Jan. 20.

As the first black president of a nation that incarcerates a disproportionately large number of black and Latino men, Obama has made it a priority to address problems that make it difficult for released inmates to reenter society.

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the new rules are not final, expressed confidence they would be completed before Obama leaves office.

The Obama administration, in its final weeks, plans to ease the legal obligations on prisoners to pay for child support while they are locked up, targeting practices that critics say can saddle ex-convicts with crippling debts.

The rules would require that prisoners be allowed to lower the amount of child support they pay in prison, with the goal of preventing large debts that inmates struggle to repay after release and that can lead to reincarceration.

Some Republican critics have said such a change would let parents flout their financial responsibilities. Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan last year introduced a bill to block the administration from making such a change. The bill did not become law.

A Republican House aide told Reuters the administration's initiative would amount to a "backdoor effort" to avoid the legislative process.

Criminal justice reform was supposed to be an area where Republicans and Democrats could find common ground in 2016, but legislative efforts have stalled.

As a result, the administration needs to move forward on its own where it can, the White House official said.

"We are always happy to sit down and talk with Congress, but at some point we have to move forward with what we know we are legally permitted to do and what is right," the official said.