[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2518 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2518

    To implement certain measures to increase the effectiveness of 
    international child abduction remedies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2007

   Mr. Lampson (for himself, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Al Green of 
Texas, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Cardoza, Mr. Braley of 
  Iowa, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Ms. 
  Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Hinojosa, Ms. 
Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Ms. Zoe Lofgren 
    of California, Mr. Walz of Minnesota, Mr. Hill, Ms. Solis, Ms. 
Velazquez, Mr. Kind, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Pastor, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. Kagen, 
Mr. Hodes, and Mr. Perlmutter) introduced the following bill; which was 
  referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 
Committees on Foreign Affairs and Education and Labor, for a period to 
      be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To implement certain measures to increase the effectiveness of 
    international child abduction remedies, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Bring Our Children Home Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE MISSING CHILDREN'S ASSISTANCE ACT.

    Section 403(1) of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5772(1)) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by striking 
        ``whose whereabouts are unknown to such individual's legal 
        custodian if'',
            (2) in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)--
                    (A) by redesignating such subparagraphs as clauses 
                (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively, and
                    (B) by indenting the left margin of such 
                subparagraphs 2 ems to the right,
            (3) by inserting before clause (i), as so redesignated, the 
        following:
                    ``(A) whose whereabouts is unknown to such 
                individual's legal custodian if--'', and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) whose whereabouts is known to such 
                individual's legal custodian from whose control such 
                child--
                            ``(i) was removed in violation of law; or
                            ``(ii) is believed by such custodian to 
                        have been taken out of the United States 
                        without the consent of such custodian by, or 
                        for the benefit of, an individual who may 
                        possibly claim custodial rights with respect to 
                        such child;''.

SEC. 3. INVESTIGATIVE ASSISTANCE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO LOCATE 
              ALIEN CHILDREN MISSING IN THE UNITED STATES.

    The Attorney General shall make available to State and local law 
enforcement agencies, information describing the methods and procedures 
available to them to institute or assist an investigative search for an 
alien child who is believed to be in the United States and who is the 
subject of--
            (1) an application under the Hague Convention on the Civil 
        Aspects of International Parental Child Abduction, or
            (2) an Interpol yellow notice.

SEC. 4. STATE REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 3702 of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5780) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2) by striking ``and'' at the end, and
            (2) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``and'' at the 
                end,
                    (B) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and'', and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the 
                following:
                    ``(D) a statement specifying whether the child is 
                believed to have been taken outside of the United 
                States;''.

SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION REMEDIES ACT.

    (a) Legal Assistance, Technical Assistance, and Training.--Section 
7 of the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11606) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(g) Legal Assistance for Victims of Parental Kidnapping Grants.--
            ``(1) Funding to legal services providers.--The United 
        States Central Authority shall establish a program to provide 
        funding to legal services providers, including private 
        attorneys, public officials acting pursuant to the Uniform 
        Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, legal aid 
        programs, and law school clinical programs, to provide direct 
        legal or advocacy services on behalf of persons seeking 
        remedies under the Convention, or other civil or criminal 
        remedies in interstate or international parental kidnapping 
        cases.
            ``(2) Training and technical assistance.--The United States 
        Central Authority, directly or through grants, shall provide 
        training and technical assistance to recipients of funds under 
        paragraph (1) to improve their capacity to offer legal 
        assistance described in paragraph (1).
    ``(h) Technical Assistance.--The United States Central Authority 
shall encourage the Chief Justice of every State and the District of 
Columbia to designate a single court, or a limited number of courts, in 
which cases brought under the Convention may be heard. The United 
States Central Authority may provide technical assistance (including 
computers and Internet access) as necessary to foster consolidation of 
jurisdiction and implementation of the Convention, consistent with the 
purposes of the Convention.
    ``(i) Training.--The United States Central Authority shall provide 
or promote training of State court judges, lawyers, and law students on 
the civil and criminal laws pertaining to interstate and international 
parental kidnapping. To carry out this subsection, the United States 
Central Authority may make available funds under subsection (e) to 
State judicial educators, national, State, and local bar associations, 
and law schools. The United States Central Authority shall require 
recipients of such funds to report on the training programs they 
present, including the number of participants.''.
    (b) Legal Services Corporation.--The Legal Services Corporation may 
use funds made available to the Corporation for programs to represent 
aliens in proceedings brought in the United States under the 
Convention--
            (1) if the individuals to whom the representation is 
        provided otherwise meet the criteria of the Corporation for 
        eligible clients under the Legal Services Corporation Act; and
            (2) whether or not such individuals are resident in the 
        United States.
    (c) Court Costs.--Section 8(b) of the International Child Abduction 
Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11607(b)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Costs Incurred in Civil Actions.--
                    ``(1) Payment of court costs by central 
                authority.--The Central Authority shall establish a 
                program under which it provides, directly to the court 
                or to petitioners and respondents, the funds necessary 
                to pay the court costs of petitioners and respondents 
                in actions brought under section 4, including court 
                fees and the cost of translation services, expert 
                witness testimony, and transcription services.
                    ``(2) Costs of legal counsel and travel.--
                Petitioners may be required to bear the costs of legal 
                counsel or advisors and travel costs for the return of 
                the child involved and any accompanying persons, except 
                as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4).
                    ``(3) Payments from other sources.--Subject to 
                paragraph (4), legal fees incurred in connection with 
                an action brought under section 4 shall be borne by the 
                petitioner unless they are covered by payments from 
                Federal, State, or local legal assistance or other 
                programs.
                    ``(4) Costs borne by petitioner.--Any court 
                ordering the return of a child pursuant to an action 
                brought under section 4 shall order the respondent to 
                pay necessary expenses incurred by or on behalf of the 
                petitioner (other than court costs for which the 
                Central Authority pays under paragraph (1)), including 
                legal fees, foster home or other care during the course 
                of proceedings in the action, and transportation costs 
                related to the return of the child, unless the 
                respondent establishes that such order would be clearly 
                inappropriate.''.
    (d) Federal Judicial Center.--Section 620 of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Continuing Education and Training Programs.--The Center shall 
include in its continuing education and training programs under 
subsection (b)(3), including the training programs for newly appointed 
judges, information on the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of 
International Child Abduction, the International Child Abduction 
Remedies Act, the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993, 
and other Federal statutes pertaining to parental kidnapping within the 
jurisdiction of the Federal courts, and shall prepare materials 
necessary to carry out this subsection.''.

SEC. 6. REPORTS RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION.

    (a) Report on Progress in Negotiating Bilateral Treaties With Non-
Hague Convention Countries.--The Secretary of State shall prepare and 
submit to the Congress an annual report on progress made by the United 
States in negotiating and entering into bilateral treaties (or other 
international agreements) relating to international child abduction 
with countries that are not contracting parties to the Hague Convention 
on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
    (b) Report on Human Rights Practices.--(1) Section 116(d) of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) is amended--
            (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon;
            (B) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) the status of efforts in each country to prohibit 
        international child abduction, including--
                    ``(A) efforts to expedite the return of children to 
                the country of their habitual residence; and
                    ``(B) the extent to which the country respects the 
                rights of custody and of access under the laws of other 
                countries.''.
    (2) Section 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2304(b)) is amended by inserting after the sixth sentence the 
following: ``Each report under this section shall include information 
on the status of efforts in each country to prohibit international 
child abduction, including efforts to expedite the return of children 
to the country of their habitual residence and the extent to which the 
country respects the rights of custody and of access under the laws of 
other countries.''.
    (c) Report on Enforcement of Section 1204 of Title 18, United 
States Code.--The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary 
of State, shall prepare and submit to the Congress an annual report 
that contains a description of the status of each case involving a 
request during the preceding year for extradition to the United States 
of an individual alleged to have violated section 1204 of title 18, 
United States Code.

SEC. 7. STUDY ON COOPERATION OF AIRLINE INDUSTRY.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a study 
of--
            (1) the extent to which the domestic and foreign airline 
        industries cooperate with the investigation of international 
        child abduction cases, including cooperation with the 
        Department of State, the Department of Justice, and the 
        National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; and
            (2) any practices and procedures necessary to improve the 
        ability of the domestic and foreign airline industries to 
        cooperate with the investigation of international child 
        abduction cases.
    (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to 
Congress a report on the results of the study conducted under 
subsection (a).

SEC. 8. ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF 
              PARENTAL KIDNAPPING.

    In addition to funds otherwise authorized to be appropriated for 
the activities described in this section, there are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the 
Department of Justice for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2012 
such sums as may be necessary for the investigation and prosecution of 
violations of section 1204 of title 18, United States Code.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR EXTRADITION.

    There are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 
2009 through 2012 such funds as may be necessary for the costs of 
extraditing individuals from foreign countries to the United States for 
violations of laws in the United States by reason of unlawfully 
removing a child from the child's custodial parent.

SEC. 10. GRANTS FOR TRAVEL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SAFE RETURN OF 
              ABDUCTED CHILDREN.

    (a) Program Authorized.--The Director of the Office of Victims of 
Crime of the Department of Justice shall, subject to the availability 
of appropriations, establish a Victim Travel in International 
Reunification Cases program to award grants to the National Center for 
Missing & Exploited Children to reimburse parents, guardians, law 
enforcement, and other individuals, as appropriate, for travel costs 
related to the safe return of children from the United States who have 
been abducted and taken to foreign countries.
    (b) Use of Grant Funds.--Travel costs under subsection (a) that are 
reimbursed using funds under this section may include airfare and daily 
subsistence costs, including lodging, meals, and ground transportation.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $250,000 for each of the fiscal 
years 2009 through 2012.
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