[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6095 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6095

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 20, 2008

 Mr. Lampson (for himself, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Gene 
Green of Texas, Mr. Kagen, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Udall of Colorado, and Mr. 
Poe) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
                            on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 ``International and Parental Child 
Abduction Remedies Assistance Act''.

SEC. 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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. 6. 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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