[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S1607]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE CHILD CITIZENSHIP ACT OF 2000

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today marks a special day in the lives 
of tens of thousands of American families. Families who have adopted 
children from other nations, providing them with safe environments, 
good food, a good education, and most importantly, loving homes.
  Traditionally, adoptive families have had to endure a lengthy and 
expensive bureaucratic process, and navigate through a daunting maze of 
paperwork, as they have tried to secure U.S. citizenship for their 
foreign-born adopted children. All that changed first thing this 
morning when the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 took effect. This 
important act of Congress, which passed the Senate unanimously last 
October, cleared the way today for approximately 75,000 children 
adopted from abroad to become Americans. When these children went to 
sleep last night, they were in naturalization limbo. When they woke up 
this morning, they were citizens of the United States of America. I 
send my warmest welcome to these new young Americans.
  In some cases, adoptive parents were not aware of the need to file 
applications for citizenship for their adopted children. Many of these 
children grew up to discover they were not considered U.S. citizens. 
Some have faced the possibility of having to return to a country they 
have never known. The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 corrected this 
injustice.
  Today, families in Colorado and across this Nation, celebrate the 
automatic citizenship of foreign-adopted children who meet the 
requirements outlined in the act. For the O'Neil family of Englewood, 
Colorado among many such families across the state and our nation, it 
is a day of great joy.
  Today is a day when we greet many new U.S. citizens. I wish to extend 
my congratulations to our newest and youngest citizens and their 
families, as well as to my colleagues who worked so diligently to make 
this day possible.

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