[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 187 (Wednesday, November 28, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S7151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Observing National Adoption Month

  Mr. President, I want to move now to the reason I scheduled this time 
today and talk a few moments about November as National Adoption Month. 
As November draws to a close, I also would point out that every month 
should be adoption month.
  I am pleased to work with my colleague and cochair of the 
Congressional Coalition on Adoption, Senator Klobuchar. We looked 
forward to passing this resolution supporting National Adoption Month. 
This is the fourth year we have worked together on this resolution. I 
thank all of my colleagues for their unanimous support for this 
resolution as it passed earlier this week.
  The Congressional Coalition on Adoption is the largest bipartisan, 
bicameral coalition in the Congress. We have our friends leading on the 
House side, and we have this opportunity for many of us to join 
together on the Senate side. The idea is that every child deserves to 
grow up in a safe, stable home with a loving family. That is something 
on which I think everyone can agree. In fact, year after year, we have 
that agreement in the Senate and the House.
  Unfortunately, right now there are more than 400,000 children in the 
U.S. foster care system and more than 100,000 children waiting in that 
system to be adopted. They don't have the benefit of a permanent family 
they can call their own. There are many more children all over the 
world who need families and who are in settings no one would believe to 
be ideal.
  For those charitable institutions that reach out to have a place for 
children to go when their mother or their family can no longer keep 
them, we are grateful. For those families who create a home in the 
foster system in my State and around the country, we are grateful as 
well.
  There are over 13,000 children in foster care in Missouri. I would 
like to share a couple stories of people in foster care who would like 
to have a family become their permanent family, a family they would 
always know they were secure in and a part of.
  Brooklyn is a creative girl in the fourth grade who loves arts and 
crafts. She is an active girl. She likes to play outdoors. She makes 
friends easily. She is inquisitive by nature. She loves to ask 
questions and discover how things work. Brooklyn needs a home.
  Levelle is a sixth grader who is an adventure seeker, animal lover, 
and Lego enthusiast. He has a knack for math and science, and he wants 
to work at the Children's Hospital when he grows up. Levelle would like 
a permanent home.
  Kiara and Devin are siblings who hope to be placed together. Kiara 
loves music and singing her favorite songs. When she isn't singing, 
Kiara loves reading a good book or playing outdoors. She wants to be a 
surgeon or a lawyer and a full-time foster parent when she grows up. 
She knows how important her foster family has been for her. She would 
like to have a family who she knows she would always be able to relate 
to in a more permanent way. Her brother Devin is also a sixth grader 
and enjoys learning and playing sports. He especially loves puzzles and 
figuring out how to put things together. He would like to figure out 
how to put a family together and be part of that along with his sister. 
He likes singing, playing, and reading. The two siblings have a lot of 
fun together and would like to have a forever family.
  There are a lot more stories to share. That is why, during National 
Adoption Month, it is important to think about how year in and year out 
we are looking for ways to make it easier for families to come together 
in a permanent way.
  Nearly a quarter of the people living in our country have considered 
adoption. Many of those have misperceptions and concerns about 
adoption. A lot of people believe that foster care adoption is 
expensive if they adopt out of the foster care system. In reality, 
there is almost no cost to adopting from foster care. Financial support 
is available. In many cases, adoptive parents can get that support to 
make their adoption of a new family final.
  Ensuring that adoption remains a viable option for families is 
central to our efforts in the adoption caucus. This week, Senator 
Klobuchar and I will be introducing the Supporting Adoptive Families 
Act to provide adoptive families additional tools and supportive 
services to help them achieve a successful adoption and to prevent 
adopted children from reentering the foster care system.
  Since National Adoption Day started in 2000, more than 70,000 
children have been adopted into permanent homes. I myself am an 
adoptive parent, and I look forward to seeing more people have the 
experience of what happens when you change somebody's life and they 
change your life.
  I hope more families will take this time not only during National 
Adoption Month but also during the holidays to consider adoption. I can 
say without exception that one of the most rewarding things you could 
possibly do is create that environment. My wife and I have benefitted 
from it and our son has benefited from it, as have his brothers and 
sisters and others in our family.
  It is an important time to think about ways to reach out and make a 
permanent difference in people's lives. It is frankly hard to imagine a 
greater way to make a more permanent difference than considering 
adoption. Senator Klobuchar and I and others in the adoption caucus 
would certainly encourage people who are thinking about adoption, as 
kids need a safe and permanent family.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up 
to 15 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.