[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 122 (Thursday, July 31, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5313-S5314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONCERNING THE SUSPENSION OF EXIT PERMIT ISSUANCE BY THE GOVERNMENT OF 
                    THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

  Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I now ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 495, S. Res. 502.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 502) concerning the suspension of 
     exit permit issuance by the Government of the Democratic 
     Republic of Congo for adopted Congolese children seeking to 
     depart the country with their adoptive parents.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign 
Relations, with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble.
  (Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part 
printed in italic.)
  (Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic.)

                              S. Res. 502

       Whereas according to UNICEF, over 4,000,000 orphans are 
     estimated to be living in the Democratic Republic of Congo;
       Whereas cyclical and violent conflict has plagued the 
     Democratic Republic of Congo since the mid-1990s;
       Whereas the United States has made significant financial 
     investments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, providing an 
     estimated $274,000,000 bilateral aid to the Democratic 
     Republic of Congo in fiscal year 2013 and an additional 
     $165,000,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance;
       Whereas the policy of the United States Government toward 
     the Democratic Republic of Congo is ``focused on helping the 
     country become a nation that . . . provides for the basic 
     needs of its citizens'';
       Whereas the United Nations, the Hague Conference on Private 
     International Law, and other international organizations have 
     recognized that a child should grow up in a family 
     environment;
       Whereas adoption, both domestic and international, is an 
     important child protection tool and an integral part of child 
     welfare best practices around the world, along with family 
     reunification and prevention of abandonment;
       Whereas, on September 27, 2013, the Congolese Ministry of 
     Interior and Security, General Directorate of Migration, 
     informed the United States Embassy in Kinshasa that effective 
     September 25, 2013, they had suspended issuance of exit 
     permits to adopted Congolese children seeking to depart the 
     country with their adoptive parents;
       Whereas there are United States families with finalized 
     adoptions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the 
     necessary legal paperwork and visas ready to travel home with 
     these children but are currently unable to do so; and
       Whereas, on December 19, 2013, the Congolese Minister of 
     Justice, Minister of Interior and Security, and the General 
     Directorate of Migration confirmed to members of the United 
     States Department of State that the current suspension on the 
     issuance of exit permits continues: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, [That the Senate--
       [(1) affirms that all children deserve a safe, loving, and 
     permanent family;
       [(2) recognizes the importance of ensuring that 
     international adoptions of all children are conducted in an 
     ethical and transparent manner;
       [(3) expresses concern over the impact on children and 
     families caused by the current suspension of exit permit 
     issuance within the Democratic Republic of Congo;
       [(4) respectfully requests that the Government of the 
     Democratic Republic of Congo--
       [(A) resume processing adoption cases and issuing exit 
     permits via the Ministry of Gender and Family's 
     Interministerial Adoption Committee and Directorate of 
     General Migration;
       [(B) prioritize the processing of intercountry adoptions 
     which were initiated before the suspension; and

[[Page S5314]]

       [(C) expedite the processing of those adoptions which 
     involve medically fragile children; and
       [(5) encourages continued dialogue and cooperation between 
     the United States Department of State and the Democratic 
     Republic of the Congo's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to 
     improve the intercountry adoption process and ensure the 
     welfare of all children adopted from the Democratic Republic 
     of Congo.]
       That the Senate--
       (1) affirms that all children deserve a safe, loving, and 
     permanent family;
       (2) recognizes the importance of ensuring that 
     international adoptions of all children are conducted in an 
     ethical and transparent manner;
       (3) expresses concern over the impact on children and 
     families caused by the current suspension of exit permit 
     issuance within the Democratic Republic of Congo;
       (4) respectfully requests that the Government of the 
     Democratic Republic of Congo--
       (A) resume processing adoption cases and issuing exit 
     permits via the Ministry of Gender and Family's 
     Interministerial Adoption Committee and General Directorate 
     of Migration;
       (B) prioritize the processing of intercountry adoptions 
     which were initiated before the suspension; and
       (C) expedite the processing of those adoptions which 
     involve medically fragile children; and
       (5) encourages continued dialogue and cooperation between 
     the United States Department of State and the Democratic 
     Republic of the Congo's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to 
     improve the intercountry adoption process and ensure the 
     welfare of all children adopted from the Democratic Republic 
     of Congo.
  Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
committee-reported amendment be agreed to; the resolution, as amended, 
be agreed to; the committee-reported amendment to the preamble be 
agreed to; the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; and the motions to 
reconsider be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
agreed to.
  The resolution (S. Res. 502), as amended, was agreed to.
  The committee-reported amendment to the preamble in the nature of a 
substitute was agreed to.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.

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