[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 9, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 6, 1998

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4380) making 
     appropriations for the government of the District of Columbia 
     and other activities chargeable in whole or in part against 
     revenues of said District for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 1999, and for other purposes:

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment by 
the gentleman from Oklahoma.
  Some who oppose this amendment will express their concern about the 
unwarranted intrusion this amendment represents into the lives of 
children and their families in the District of Columbia.
  Others will address the impact of this amendment on the principle of 
local control, and wonder what in the world the Congress of the United 
States is doing meddling with local adoption rules.
  I share both of those concerns, Mr. Chairman. But tonight I wish to 
speak as an adoptive parent, who is concerned first and foremost about 
the well-being of unwanted children.
  Mr. Chairman, it is a sad fact that not all parents are fit parents. 
Child abuse and neglect occurs in all kinds of families. Among ``birth 
families'' no less than adoptive families. Among so-called 
``traditional two-parent families'' no less than families of less 
conventional description.
  Most of us do our best to love and nurture our children, but no 
parent is perfect. And we all make mistakes.
  But I also know that good parents and families come in all shapes and 
sizes, too. Some of the most loving, nurturing and supportive families 
would fail Mr. Largent's litmus test.
  And that would be a tremendous loss for the half a million children 
now in foster care who would be deprived of the chance to grow up in 
that kind of environment.
  There are too many kids out there who need decent homes for us to 
start deciding which characteristics to require of adoptive parents. 
Some who value a religious upbringing might want to disqualify 
prospective parents who are not religious. Others might want to 
disqualify people who are. Some might feel that only people with a 
certain level of income, or education, are entitled to adopt. And so 
forth.
  But such considerations are really beside the point when it comes to 
adoption. The only test we ought to apply is the test the law already 
uses to determine whether a child belongs in a particular family 
situation or not. That test is whether the situation is in the ``best 
interests'' of the child.
  The application of that test is a complex matter. It requires the 
careful weighing of a multitude of factors by those with the requisite 
experience and expertise. One thing we can be sure of is that the 
Congress of the United States is not the agency that is best equipped 
to do that evaluation.
  Another thing I'm sure of, Mr. Chairman, is that it is not in the 
best interests of a child to be in an institution or on the street when 
he or she could grow up in a stable, loving household.
  We should ask whether the parents have the means to feed and clothe 
the child and see to its education. We should ask whether they maintain 
a home that will offer the child a harmonious, stable and nurturing 
environment. We should ask whether they have the skills and the 
commitment it takes to be a good parent.
  When we find a family that offers all this to a child in need, what 
kind of society would reject that family because the parents are ``not 
related by blood or marriage?''
  I believe we should embrace that family, Mr. Chairman, and be 
thankful that a lost child has been given a new home and a second 
chance in life.

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