[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 147 (Wednesday, October 7, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                       ADOPTIVE FAMILY RELIEF ACT

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                               speech of

                          HON. EDWARD R. ROYCE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 6, 2015

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation and 
appreciate Chairman Goodlatte's work to bring it to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, all of us have had constituents who have adopted 
children internationally. These families go through a long, complex and 
very emotional process as they wait on legal decisions and government 
reviews.
  Along with the emotional stress can come financial stress too. In a 
number of cases, as wait times lengthen and lengthen, an adoptive 
child's American visa will expire before they are able to leave their 
home country. This means the American parents adopting this child have 
to reapply and repay hefty fees.
  But under this legislation, that reapplication fee can be waived if a 
family is faced with extraordinary circumstances outside their control.
  This is common sense.
  Mr. Speaker, passage of this bill--and the President's signature--
means immediate help for hundreds of American families seeking to adopt 
children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Foreign Affairs 
Committee has been particularly focused on this tragic and frustrating 
situation.
  These American families have been unable to bring their legally 
adopted children home from the DRC because of a bureaucratic chokehold 
by the Congolese government. In some cases, some children who had a 
loving home ready and waiting in the United States died in Congo's 
orphanages. Yes, died.
  Nearly every congressional district has a family impacted by this 
tragic policy of the Congolese government.
  I have met with a number of families from Southern California, who 
have adopted children from the DRC that they now cannot take home. Some 
of these families have paid over $1,000 in fees to the U.S. 
government--and will continue to pay more--to keep their adoptive 
child's visa active, while they wait in limbo for the Congolese 
government to do the right thing.
  Mr. Speaker, last month marked the two-year anniversary of the DRC 
suspending international adoptions. For two years these families have 
been hurting. The Congolese system is failing these children, for sure. 
But today, the American system will respond to give these families some 
relief during this time of distress. We are doing all we can to see 
that these legally adopted children are allowed into loving American 
homes, but for now, we can all feel good about relieving this financial 
burden.

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