The House of Representatives today passed H.R. 5626, the Intercountry Adoption Information Act. Georgia’s 9th District Congressman Doug Collins introduced the bill, which directs the State Department to provide American families with information to help them navigate adoption processes in different countries.
After the vote Congressman Collins had these comments,
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… 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.
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.
Full Press Release available here