As President Trump prepares to meet on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Georgia Congressman Doug Collins pointed to the timing of the passage of the Intercountry Adoption Information Act, a bill he introduced in the U.S.
House.
"...it's a great time to remind [both sides] that we can work together on some things," Collins said as he presented H.R. 5626.
The measure, which won passage Tuesday in the House of Representatives directs the State Department to provide American families with information to help them navigate international adoption processes. Russia banned adoptions by American parents in 2012.
"Adopting children from abroad is an act of love that is too often complicated by a lack of reliable information about the international adoption landscape. The Intercountry Adoption Information Act would help unite loving parents and vulnerable children by providing them with accurate, timely information about the procedures and hurdles associated with adoption in specific countries," the Republican from Gainesville said on Tuesday.
“Each day, families in northeast Georgia and beyond remain separated from their adoptive children as a result of shifting international policies and information gaps, so I hope the strong bipartisan support we saw in the House today encourages the Senate to pass this bill swiftly,” Collins said.
When he introduced the legislation, Collins told his fellow representatives the story Pam and Mark Romano, who live in his district.
The Romanos began the process of adopting two brothers from Russia before the country shut down U.S. adoptions. They had already met the boys and set up bedrooms for them at their home in North Georgia.
“Families across the United States are greatly encouraged by House passage of this all-important and much needed bill. Those who are considering adopting, are already in that process or are in the unfortunate situation of a stuck adoption know very well how imperative it is that our State Department provide both transparency and accountability on all fronts,” said Pam Romano. “This bill ultimately supports the rights of children worldwide who lie awake at night dreaming of one day having a mommy and daddy to call their own.”
Collins' office provided the following background on the legislation:
As policy barriers to adoption appear in countries like Russia, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Americans struggle to find updated information on which nations have enacted policies that curb or prevent adoptions by American families. Currently, the U.S. State Department must publish an annual, public report on the statistics surrounding intercountry adoptions.
The Intercountry Adoption Information Act would require the department to include in its annual report to Congress information on countries that have enacted or continued policies that have halted or reduced adoptions of children from foreign nations by American parents. The legislation would also urge the State Department to include information on its efforts to encourage countries to resume adoption proceedings that have been affected by foreign policies and to document any actions undertaken by the department that prevented, prohibited or halted any adoptions of children born abroad to the United States.
