[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 10 (Thursday, January 17, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S296]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 23--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF COUNTERING 
 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. TILLIS (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. McConnell, Mrs. Murray, 
Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Booker, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Menendez, Ms. 
Harris, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mr. Rubio) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 23

       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 9,127 children experienced international 
     parental child abduction between 2008 and 2015;
       Whereas, during 2017, one or more cases of international 
     parental child abduction involving children who are citizens 
     of the United States were identified in 105 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 the majority of children who were abducted from the 
     United States have yet to be reunited with their custodial 
     parents;
       Whereas, during 2017, Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, 
     China, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Japan, Jordan, 
     Morocco, Peru, and the United Arab Emirates 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 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'', which 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 for the child and 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, the 
     Children's Bureau of the Administration for Children and 
     Families; and
       (2) in the Department of State, the Office of Children's 
     Issues of the Bureau of Consular Affairs;
       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), which enacted section 1204 of 
     title 18, United States Code, and the Sean and David Goldman 
     International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 
     2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.);
       Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 543, 112th 
     Congress, on December 4, 2012, which--
       (1) condemns international parental child abduction;
       (2) urges countries identified by the Department of State 
     as noncompliant with the Hague Convention on Abduction to 
     fulfill the commitment those countries made to implement such 
     treaty; and
       (3) expresses the sense of the Senate that the United 
     States should--
          (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 the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 431, 115th 
     Congress, on April 19, 2018, which--
       (1) raises awareness and promotes education about 
     international parental child abduction;
       (2) recognizes the impacts on children who are victims of 
     international parental abductions; and
       (3) expresses the sense of the Senate that the United 
     States should--
          (A) continue to raise awareness and opposition on 
     international parental child abduction;
          (B) facilitate access to the abducted child for the 
     parent remaining in the United States; and
          (C) urge countries to comply with the request to bring 
     children home to the United States;
       Whereas all 50 States and the District of Columbia have 
     enacted laws criminalizing parental kidnapping;
       Whereas, in 2017, the Prevention Branch of the Office of 
     Children's Issues of the Department of State--
       (1) fielded more than 3,500 inquiries from the general 
     public relating to preventing a child from being removed from 
     the United States; and
       (2) enrolled more than 4,404 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 
     abductions; 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 more critical; and
       Whereas, in 2017, the Department of Homeland Security, in 
     coordination with the Prevention Branch of the Office of 
     Children's Issues of the Department of State, enrolled 210 
     children in a program aimed at preventing international 
     parental child abduction:
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes and observes ``Countering International 
     Parental Child Abduction Month'' during the period beginning 
     on April 1, 2019, and ending on April 30, 2019, to raise 
     awareness of, and opposition to, international parental child 
     abduction; and
       (2) urges the United States to continue playing 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.

                          ____________________