[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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