[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6220 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6220

To amend title 18, United States Code, to criminalize unlawful adoption 
                               practices.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 3, 2023

Ms. Kuster (for herself, Mr. Lamborn, and Mr. Aderholt) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to criminalize unlawful adoption 
                               practices.

    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 ``Adoption Deserves Oversight, 
Protection, and Transparency Act of 2023'' or the ``ADOPT Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to:
            (1) Protect individuals and families impacted by private 
        domestic adoption from exploitation by unlicensed adoption 
        intermediaries.
            (2) Ensure that individuals seeking assistance with 
        domestic adoption have ready access to licensed and regulated 
        adoption providers in their communities.
            (3) Prevent the commodification of children.

SEC. 3. ADOPTION OFFENSE.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 11A of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 228A. Unlawful adoption practices
    ``(a) Adoption Intermediary Services.--
            ``(1) Offense.--Whoever, in any circumstance described in 
        subsection (d), knowingly provides or offers to provide 
        adoption intermediary services shall be punished as provided in 
        accordance with subsection (e).
            ``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
                    ``(A) a public child-placing agency;
                    ``(B) a private licensed child-placing agency; or
                    ``(C) a licensed attorney.
    ``(b) Adoption Advertising.--
            ``(1) Offense.--Whoever, in any circumstance described in 
        subsection (d), knowingly places an adoption advertisement 
        shall be punished in accordance with subsection (e).
            ``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
                    ``(A) a public child-placing agency or private 
                licensed child-placing agency licensed to provide 
                services in the State wherein the advertisement 
                appears;
                    ``(B) an attorney licensed in the State wherein the 
                advertisement appears; or
                    ``(C) an adoption service provider accredited or 
                approved in accordance with the Intercountry Adoption 
                Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 1490 note) advertising an 
                intercountry adoption program.
    ``(c) Unauthorized Payments to or on Behalf of a Placing Parent.--
            ``(1) Offense.--Whoever, in any circumstance described in 
        subsection (d), knowingly provides anything of value, including 
        money, property, or services, whether payment is made directly 
        or indirectly for the benefit of the placing parent in 
        furtherance of an adoption in an amount exceeding $500, shall 
        be punished in accordance with subsection (e).
            ``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply with 
        respect to payments made by or in cooperation with--
                    ``(A) a private child-placing agency licensed in 
                the State where the placing parent resides or is 
                located; or
                    ``(B) an attorney licensed in the State where the 
                placing parent resides or is located.
    ``(d) Applications.--For the purposes of sections (a), (b), and 
(c), the circumstances described in these subsections are that--
            ``(1) the offender or victim traveled in interstate 
        commerce, or traveled using a means, channel, facility, or 
        instrumentality of interstate commerce, in furtherance of or in 
        connection with the conduct described in subsections (a), (b), 
        or (c);
            ``(2) the offender used a means, channel, facility, or 
        instrumentality of interstate commerce in furtherance of or in 
        connection with the conduct described in subsections (a), (b), 
        or (c);
            ``(3) any payment of any kind was made, directly or 
        indirectly, in furtherance of or in connection with the conduct 
        described in subsections (a), (b), or (c) using any means, 
        channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate commerce or 
        in or affecting interstate commerce;
            ``(4) the offender transmitted in interstate commerce any 
        communication relating to or in furtherance of the conduct 
        described in subsections (a), (b), or (c) using any means, 
        channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate commerce or 
        in or affecting interstate commerce by any means or in manner, 
        including by computer, mail, wire, or electromagnetic 
        transmission; or
            ``(5) the conduct described in subsection (a) otherwise 
        occurred in or affected interstate or foreign commerce.
    ``(e) Penalty.--Whoever violates subsection (a), (b), or (c)--
            ``(1) in the case of an individual, shall be fined 
        $100,000, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, per 
        violation; or
            ``(2) in the case of an organization, shall be fined 
        $250,000 per violation.
    ``(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
construed to affect the application of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 
1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) or limit the provision of intercountry 
adoption programs and services authorized under the Intercountry 
Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14921).
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Adoption advertising.--The term `adoption 
        advertising' means a paid advertisement, article, notice, or 
        other paid communication published in any newspaper, magazine, 
        or on the internet, on a billboard, over radio or television, 
        or other similar media that--
                    ``(A) solicits prospective adoptive parents for the 
                purpose of acting as a link between a placing parent 
                and a prospective adoptive parent, or the prospective 
                adoptive parent's representative, attorney, or agency, 
                for the transfer of legal or physical custody of a 
                child, including adoptive placement;
                    ``(B) solicits placing parents for the purpose of 
                acting as a link between a placing parent and a 
                prospective adoptive parent, or the prospective 
                adoptive parent's representative, attorney, or agency, 
                for the transfer of legal or physical custody of a 
                child, including adoptive placement; or
                    ``(C) offers to pay a placing parent's living 
                expenses in connection with any transfer or potential 
                transfer of legal or physical custody of a child, 
                including adoptive placement.
            ``(2) Adoption intermediary services.--The term `adoption 
        intermediary services' means the provision of any of the 
        following services, in exchange for direct or indirect 
        compensation:
                    ``(A) Soliciting placing parents, whether through 
                adoption advertising or other means, for the purposes 
                of acting as a link between a placing parent and a 
                prospective adoptive parent, or the prospective 
                adoptive parent's representative, attorney, or agency, 
                for the transfer of legal or physical custody of their 
                child, including adoptive placement.
                    ``(B) Soliciting prospective adoptive parents, 
                whether through adoption advertising or other means, 
                for the purpose of acting as a link between a placing 
                parent and a prospective adoptive parent, or the 
                prospective adoptive parent's representative, attorney, 
                or agency, for the transfer of legal or physical 
                custody of a child, including adoptive placement.
                    ``(C) Acting as a link between placing parents of a 
                child and prospective adoptive parents, whether 
                directly or through the prospective adoptive parents' 
                representative, agency, or attorney, for the purpose of 
                the transfer of physical or legal custody of the child, 
                including adoptive placement.
            ``(3) Placing parent.--The term `placing parent' means a 
        parent with legal authority to place the child for adoption.
            ``(4) Public child-placing agency.--The term `public child-
        placing agency' means any government child welfare agency or 
        child protection agency that has the legal authority to place 
        children for adoption.
            ``(5) Private licensed child-placing agency.--The term 
        `private licensed child-placing agency' means a licensed or 
        State approved agency that has the legal authority to place 
        children for adoption.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) Chapter heading.--The chapter heading for chapter 11A 
        of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``AND 
        UNLAWFUL ADOPTION PRACTICES'' after ``CHILD SUPPORT''.
            (2) Table of sections.--The table of sections for chapter 
        11A of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding after 
        the item relating to section 228, the following:

``228A. Unlawful adoption practices.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that 
is 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>