[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 501 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 501

   To require the registration of all persons providing intercountry 
                           adoption services.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 2, 1999

Mr. Traficant introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the registration of all persons providing intercountry 
                           adoption services.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Intercountry Adoption Services 
Provider Registration Act''.

SEC. 2. REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.

     No person shall make available an intercountry adoption service 
unless that person has filed with the Secretary a registration 
statement, supplements, and other information as required by this Act.

SEC. 3. REGISTRATION STATEMENT CONTENTS.

    A registration statement required under section 2 shall disclose--
            (1) the provider's name;
            (2) all of the provider's business addresses in the United 
        States and elsewhere;
            (3) all of the provider's business telephone numbers in the 
        United States and elsewhere;
            (4) if the provider is an individual, the individual's 
        nationality and United States immigration status;
            (5) if the provider is a partnership, each partner's name, 
        nationality, and United States immigration status, and a copy 
        of the partnership agreement;
            (6) if the provider is an association, a corporation, or 
        any other combination of individuals other than a partnership--
                    (A) the name, nationality, and United States 
                immigration status of each officer and each director;
                    (B) a copy of the organization's charter or 
                articles of incorporation;
                    (C) a copy of the organization's bylaws; and
                    (D) a statement describing the ownership and 
                control of the organization;
            (7) a statement describing the nature of the provider's 
        business;
            (8) a complete list of the provider's employees and a 
        statement describing the nature of the work of each;
            (9) a detailed statement describing each intercountry 
        adoption service that the provider makes available or intends 
        to make available;
            (10) a schedule of all fees, including foreign and domestic 
        program fees and fees for foster care, which the provider 
        charges for its intercountry adoption services;
            (11) a list of the sources of the children whom the 
        provider makes or intends to make available for adoption, if 
        any, and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of such 
        sources;
            (12) a list of any coordinators or contractors not listed 
        under paragraph (8) or (11) who are employed or otherwise 
        provided any remuneration by the provider to assist with the 
        intercountry adoption services made available by the provider, 
        and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of those 
        coordinators or contractors; and
            (13) any further information which the Secretary considers 
        necessary to make the statements made in the registration 
        statement, or the supporting documents disclosed under this 
        section, accurate and not misleading.

SEC. 4. REGISTRATION STATEMENT UPDATES.

    (a) Annual Supplements.--Within 1 year after filing a registration 
statement, and annually thereafter, each provider shall file with the 
Secretary a supplement to the registration statement. Such supplement 
shall disclose information the Secretary requires to make the 
disclosures under section 3 accurate, complete, and current.
    (b) Additional Supplements.--The Secretary may require that 
supplements be filed at more frequent intervals than required by 
subsection (a), if such filings would serve the public interest, 
including the interests of persons seeking intercountry adoption 
services.
    (c) Notification of Certain Changes.--With respect to the 
information required to be disclosed by paragraphs (1), (2), (7), and 
(11) of section 3, the provider shall notify the Secretary of any 
changes in such information within 45 days after the changes occur.

SEC. 5. FILING FEE.

    The Secretary shall establish a schedule of fees to charge 
providers for filing a registration statement. Such schedule shall be 
designed to cover the cost of the administration of this Act.

SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Penalties.--Any person convicted of a violation of section 2 
shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not 
more than 2 years, or both.
    (b) Notice of Deficient Registration Statement.--If the Secretary 
finds that a registration statement does not comply the requirements of 
this Act and that such noncompliance is not willful, the Secretary 
shall notify the provider in writing, specifying the deficiencies. A 
provider charged with a violation of section 2 based on a deficiency 
cited in such notice shall not be prosecuted unless the provider has 
not remedied the deficiency within 20 days after such notice is 
received.

SEC. 7. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.

    (a) Public Inspection.--Not later than 30 days after receipt by the 
Secretary, except as provided in subsection (b), copies of all 
registration statements, supplements, and other documents filed with 
the Secretary under this Act shall be available for public inspection 
and photocopying at a reasonable cost at various locations around the 
country, as determined by the Secretary.
    (b) Information on Sources.--
            (1) Exemption from disclosure.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), information provided to the Secretary pursuant to 
                section 3(11) shall not be disclosed by the Secretary 
                under subsection (a).
                    (B) Disclosure.--The Secretary may disclose under 
                subsection (a) information described in subparagraph 
                (A) only if the Secretary finds that a person seeking 
                or using intercountry adoption services has a 
                substantial need for such a disclosure for the purposes 
                of litigation. The Secretary shall limit the breadth of 
                such a disclosure to that information which is 
                reasonably necessary to satisfy such need.
            (2) Additional exemption from disclosure.--Section 552 of 
        title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to information 
        provided to the Secretary pursuant to section 3(11).

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``intercountry adoption service'' means a 
        service provided in the United States, related to the adoption 
        of a person from outside the United States, that--
                    (A) arranges adoptions;
                    (B) identifies prospective adoptees;
                    (C) secures the consent necessary for the 
                termination of parental rights or for adoptions;
                    (D) performs background studies on prospective 
                adoptees, home studies on prospective adoptive parents, 
                or reports of such studies;
                    (E) determines the best interests of adoptees or 
                the appropriateness of adoptive placements;
                    (F) counsels adoptees, birth parents, or adoptive 
                parents with respect to adoptions;
                    (G) monitors adoptees and their placement until 
                adoptions are finalized;
                    (H) in the case of adoptions that cannot be 
                finalized, assumes custody of an adoptee or provides 
                child care or other social services to the adoptee 
                pending an alternative placement; or
                    (I) is such other service related to intercountry 
                adoption as the Secretary of State may by regulation 
                provide;
            (2) the term ``provider'' means a person who makes 
        available or intends to make available an intercountry adoption 
        service;
            (3) the term ``registration statement'' means a 
        registration statement filed pursuant to this Act; and
            (4) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of State.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall become effective 1 year after the date of its 
enactment.
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