[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 54 (Thursday, May 4, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H2553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION

  (Mr. LAMPSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the House and talk 
about an intolerable situation, that is, the abduction of 10,000 
American children to foreign countries. I am asking my colleagues to 
focus on these children and to help pass legislation that will bring 
them home. Today I will tell the story of an American parent, Kenneth 
Roche, to illustrate the problem.
  In 1991, a U.S. court granted Kenneth a divorce from his German wife, 
and granted both parents joint legal custody, with physical custody 
going to the mother and generous access rights for Kenneth. The court 
also ordered that the child must not be removed from Massachusetts 
unless authorized by the court.
  In 1993, Kenneth's ex-wife took the child to Germany, and the United 
States issued an arrest warrant, granted him temporary custody, and 
ordered the immediate return of the child. Both a lower court and a 
higher court in Germany has ordered the return of the child, but the 
mother has refused to comply and the courts refused to enforce their 
own orders.
  Kenneth Roche has not seen his child since 1993 and does not know 
where he is. Mr. Speaker, American parents and children should not be 
separated like this. The effects on both are painful and devastating. I 
ask this House to join me and help bring our children home.

                          ____________________