[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3237 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3237

To establish a national registry from which adopted children may obtain 
    medical information voluntarily provided by their birth parents.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 12, 1998

 Mr. Schumer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a national registry from which adopted children may obtain 
    medical information voluntarily provided by their birth parents.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. NATIONAL REGISTRY OF MEDICAL INFORMATION ON BIRTH PARENTS OF 
              ADOPTED CHILDREN.

    Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670-679b) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 479B. NATIONAL REGISTRY OF MEDICAL INFORMATION ON BIRTH PARENTS 
              OF ADOPTED CHILDREN.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish and operate, in 
accordance with this section, a national registry to which the birth 
parents of an adopted child may voluntarily provide medical information 
about themselves, and from which such information may be released to 
the adopted child, on request of the adopted child.
    ``(b) Prohibition Against Release of Identifying Information.--
            ``(1) Prohibition.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        the national registry shall not release any information about a 
        birth parent that would enable the identity of the birth parent 
        to be readily determined.
            ``(2) Exception.--The national registry may release 
        identifying information about a birth parent of an adopted 
        child to the adopted child if the birth parent and the adopted 
        child have consented, by a signed notarized statement, to the 
        release of the information.
    ``(c) Confidentiality of Information.--The national registry shall 
treat as confidential all information in the national registry about an 
individual, and shall not release the information for any purpose 
without the prior, written, informed consent of the individual.
    ``(d) Operations.--
            ``(1) Privacy and confidentiality protections.--The 
        Secretary shall establish such procedures, and use 
        appropriately designed computer and data processing methods, as 
        are necessary to protect the privacy of birth parents and 
        adopted children who provide information to the national 
        registry and the confidentiality of the information in the 
        national registry.
            ``(2) Ban on facilitating reunions.--The national registry 
        shall not attempt to contact any individual for the purpose of 
        facilitating a reunion.
            ``(3) Centralization.--The national registry shall be a 
        centralized nationwide repository for the information described 
        in subsection (a), and shall operate independently of any other 
        data system maintained by the Department of Health and Human 
        Services.
    ``(e) Reasonable Fees.--The Secretary may charge and collect a 
reasonable fee for services provided under this section. The Secretary 
shall determine the amount of the fee after taking into consideration 
the average fee for comparable services offered by States, and the 
amount of the fee shall not exceed such average fee.
    ``(f) Penalty for Violation.--
            ``(1) In general.--Whoever releases confidential 
        information in violation of this section shall be fined not 
        more than $5,000, imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.
            ``(2) Inapplicability of general fine provisions of federal 
        criminal law.--Section 3571 of title 18, United States Code, 
        shall not apply to a violation of this section.
    ``(g) No Preemption.--This section shall not be construed to 
invalidate or limit any law of a State or of a political subdivision of 
a State concerning adoption and the confidentiality of the sealed 
adoption record policy of the State.''.
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