[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 43 (Monday, March 12, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1633-S1634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SENATE RESOLUTION 431--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF 
  ``INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION MONTH'' AND EXPRESSING THE 
 SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT CONGRESS SHOULD RAISE AWARENESS OF THE HARM 
            CAUSED BY INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION

  Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Cruz, and Mr. 
Menendez) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 431

       Whereas thousands of children in the United States have 
     been abducted from the United States by parents, separating 
     those children from their parents who remain in the United 
     States;
       Whereas it is illegal under section 1204 of title 18, 
     United States Code, to remove, or attempt to remove, a child 
     from the United States or retain a child (who has been in the 
     United States) outside of the United States with the intent 
     to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights;
       Whereas more than 600 children experienced international 
     parental child abduction during 2015;
       Whereas, during 2016, 1 or more cases of international 
     parental child abduction involving children who are citizens 
     of the United States were identified in 106 countries around 
     the world;
       Whereas the United States is a party to the Convention on 
     the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, done at 
     the Hague October 25, 1980 (TIAS 11670) (referred to in this 
     preamble as the ``Hague Convention on Abduction''), which--
       (1) supports the prompt return of wrongly removed or 
     retained children; and
       (2) calls for all participating parties to respect parental 
     custody rights;
       Whereas a significant number of children who were abducted 
     from the United States have yet to be reunited with their 
     custodial parents;
       Whereas, during 2016, 13 countries were identified under 
     the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction 
     Prevention and Return Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.) as 
     engaging in a pattern of noncompliance;
       Whereas, during the 20-year period ending on the date of 
     enactment of this resolution, the National Center for Missing 
     and Exploited Children has provided assistance for more than 
     6,000 international family abduction cases involving children 
     wrongfully removed from or retained outside of the United 
     States;
       Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States has 
     recognized that family abduction--
       (1) is a form of child abuse with potentially ``devastating 
     consequences for a child'', that may include negative impacts 
     on the physical and mental well-being of the child; and
       (2) can cause a child to ``experience a loss of community 
     and stability, leading to loneliness, anger, and fear of 
     abandonment'';
       Whereas, according to the 2010 Report on Compliance with 
     the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International 
     Child Abduction by the Department of State, research shows 
     that an abducted child is at risk of significant short- and 
     long-term problems, including ``anxiety, eating problems, 
     nightmares, mood swings, sleep disturbances, [and] aggressive 
     behavior'';
       Whereas international parental child abduction has 
     devastating emotional consequences not only for the child but 
     also for the parent from whom the child is separated;
       Whereas the United States has a history of promoting child 
     welfare through institutions including--
       (1) in the Department of Health and Human Services--
          (A) the Administration for Children and Families; and
          (B) the Children's Bureau; and
       (2) in the Department of State, the Office of Children's 
     Issues;
       Whereas Congress has signaled a commitment to ending 
     international parental child abduction by enacting the 
     International Child Abduction Remedies Act (22 U.S.C. 9001 et 
     seq.), the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 
     1993 (Public Law 103-173; 107 Stat. 1998), and the Sean and 
     David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and 
     Return Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.);
       Whereas, in 2012, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 543, 
     112th Congress, agreed to December 4, 2012, which--
       (1) condemned international parental child abduction;
       (2) urged countries identified by the Department of State 
     as noncompliant with the Hague Convention on Abduction to 
     fulfill the commitment those countries made to implement the 
     Hague Convention on Abduction; and
       (3) expressed the sense of the Senate that the United 
     States should--

[[Page S1634]]

          (A) pursue the return, by all appropriate means, of each 
     child abducted by a parent to another country;
          (B) if a child is abducted by a parent and not returned 
     to the United States, facilitate access to the abducted child 
     for the parent remaining in the United States; and
          (C) where appropriate, seek the extradition of the 
     parent that abducted the child;
       Whereas all 50 States and the District of Columbia have 
     enacted laws criminalizing parental kidnapping;
       Whereas, in 2016, the Prevention Branch of the Office of 
     Children's Issues of the Department of State--
       (1) fielded 2,537 inquiries from the general public 
     relating to preventing a child from being removed from the 
     United States; and
       (2) enrolled 4,087 children in the Children's Passport 
     Issuance Alert Program, which--
          (A) is one of the most important tools of the Department 
     of State for preventing international parental child 
     abduction; and
          (B) allows the Office of Children's Issues to contact 
     the enrolling parent or legal guardian to verify whether the 
     parental consent requirement has been met when a passport 
     application has been submitted for an enrolled child;
       Whereas, the Department of State cannot track the ultimate 
     destination of a child through the use of the passport of the 
     child issued by the Department of State if the child is 
     transported to a third country after departing from the 
     United States;
       Whereas a child who is a citizen of the United States may 
     have another nationality and may travel using a passport 
     issued by another country, which--
       (1) increases the difficulty in determining the whereabouts 
     of the child; and
       (2) makes efforts to prevent abductions all the more 
     critical;
       Whereas, in 2016, the Department of Homeland Security, in 
     coordination with the Prevention Branch of the Office of 
     Children's Issues of the Department of State, enrolled 131 
     children in a program aimed at preventing international 
     parental child abduction;
       Whereas, the Department of State, through the International 
     Visitor Leadership Program and related initiatives with 
     global partners of the United States, has reduced the number 
     of children who have been reported abducted from the United 
     States by 25 percent during the past 2 years; and
       Whereas the United States should continue to play a 
     leadership role in raising awareness about the devastating 
     impacts of international parental child abduction by 
     educating the public about the negative emotional, 
     psychological, and physical consequences to children and 
     parents victimized by international parental child abduction: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate recognizes and observes 
     ``International Parental Child Abduction Month'' during the 
     period beginning on April 1, 2018, and ending on May 1, 2018, 
     to raise awareness of, and opposition to, international 
     parental child abduction.

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