[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 170 (Sunday, December 30, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H7457-H7458]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION UNIVERSAL ACCREDITATION ACT OF 2012

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (S. 3331) to provide for universal intercountry adoption 
accreditation standards, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 3331

       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 ``Intercountry Adoption 
     Universal Accreditation Act of 2012''.

     SEC. 2. UNIVERSAL ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) In General.--The provisions of title II and section 404 
     of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14901 et 
     seq.), and related implementing regulations, shall apply to 
     any person offering or providing adoption services in 
     connection with a child described in section 101(b)(1)(F) of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)(F)), 
     to the same extent as they apply to the offering or provision 
     of adoption services in connection with a Convention 
     adoption. The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security, the Attorney General (with respect to section 
     404(b) of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
     14944)), and the accrediting entities shall have the duties, 
     responsibilities, and authorities under title II and title IV 
     of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 and related 
     implementing regulations with respect to a person offering or 
     providing such adoption services, irrespective of whether 
     such services are offered or provided in connection with a 
     Convention adoption.
       (b) Effective Date.--The provisions of this section shall 
     take effect 18 months after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act.
       (c) Transition Rule.--This Act shall not apply to a person 
     offering or providing adoption services as described in 
     subsection (a) in the case of a prospective adoption in 
     which--
       (1) an application for advance processing of an orphan 
     petition or petition to classify an orphan as an immediate 
     relative for a child is filed before the date that is 180 
     days after the date of the enactment of this Act; or
       (2) the prospective adoptive parents of a child have 
     initiated the adoption process with the filing of an 
     appropriate application in a foreign country sufficient such 
     that the Secretary of State is satisfied before the date that 
     is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF COLLECTED FEES FOR ACCREDITING 
                   ENTITIES.

       (a) Section 403 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 
     (42 U.S.C. 14943) is amended by striking subsection (c).
       (b) Report Requirement.--Section 202(b) of the Intercountry 
     Adoption act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14922(b)) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Report on use of federal funding.--Not later than 90 
     days after an accrediting entity receives Federal funding 
     authorized by section 403, the entity shall submit a report 
     to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 
     Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
     that describes--
       ``(A) the amount of such funding the entity received; and
       ``(B) how such funding was, or will be, used by the 
     entity.''.

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act, the terms ``accrediting entity'', ``adoption 
     service'', ``Convention adoption'', and ``person'' have the 
     meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Intercountry 
     Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14902).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Berman) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material in the Record on this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in support of S. 3331, the Intercountry Adoption Universal 
Accreditation Act of 2012. This bipartisan bill, which recently 
received unanimous consideration in the Senate, is the Senate-side 
companion to H.R. 6027, which is the bipartisan House bill introduced 
by my good friend from New Jersey (Mr. Sires).
  This bill requires that all intercountry adoption providers in the 
U.S. meet the same accreditation standards regardless of whether the 
adoption is from a Hague Convention signatory country.

                              {time}  1810

  Mr. Speaker, before I close, I would like to direct attention to yet 
another outrage perpetrated by Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, one 
that he has knowingly directed at innocent Russian children awaiting 
adoption. His action was a shameful response to legislation 
overwhelmingly adopted by the Congress that targets Russian officials 
engaged in human rights abuses, specifically those regarding Sergei 
Magnitsky.
  Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer killed in prison after having 
uncovered massive government corruption, including senior officials in 
Putin's regime. Instead of prosecuting those

[[Page H7458]]

criminals, Putin has instead cruelly chosen to target Russian orphans 
by banning adoptions by Americans.
  Tens of thousands of Russian children have been adopted by families 
in this country, who have given these innocents the love and protection 
they otherwise likely would have never known. Now, countless numbers 
may be condemned to tragic lives, knowingly sacrificed by Vladimir 
Putin in a sickening effort to show the world just how tough he is. Is 
there any additional proof needed of the despicable nature of this man 
and his regime?
  I call upon President Obama to tell Putin that the U.S. cannot and 
will not engage in a business-as-usual relationship with a regime so 
utterly devoid of humanity, a regime that deliberately tears apart the 
lives of its own children by depriving them the love of those Americans 
who wish only to give these innocents a family and a better future.
  Let those in the administration who turn their eyes from this outrage 
explain to these orphans why they must be sacrificed for the sake of 
good relations with the Putin regime.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3331, the 
Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012, and I yield 
myself such time as I may consume.
  I would like to thank Senator Kerry and my colleague from New Jersey, 
a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Sires, for their hard 
work on this legislation.
  This bill ensures American families adopting children will be 
protected from unethical and fraudulent practices by international 
adoption agencies. For years, conflicting country-by-country standards 
have plagued the international adoption process, causing harm to 
adoptive children and families.
  The bill would expand accreditation standards to cover all 
international adoptions. Presently, those standards apply only to 
adoptions from countries that are parties to the Convention on 
Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry 
Adoption, known as the Hague Convention.
  Accreditation standards help prevent the sale of children, thwart 
fraudulent financial practices, and ensure transparency in fees and the 
adoption process. They also encourage agencies to employ staff with 
professional qualifications and training.
  This is a commonsense bill that should have been enacted long ago. 
Less than half of all families adopting internationally are protected 
by the Hague Adoption Convention process, and we want to make sure that 
we protect all families that open their homes and hearts to children in 
need of loving families. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time, 
and we are ready to yield back once the gentleman from California 
yields back.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I don't see the one individual who asked to 
join me in speaking on this, so I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 3331.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground 
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum 
is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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