[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H8815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH

  (Mr. SPANO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. SPANO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to call attention to National 
Adoption Month.
  On any given day in our country, there are 440,000 children in the 
foster care system, most for 2 to 5 years. This holiday season, I 
encourage you to open your heart to the possibility of adopting a 
child. As an adoption attorney, I can personally testify that you can 
give no greater gift to a child without a home than the security of a 
parent.
  Alternatively, foster care may be a better option for you. My family 
had the joy of fostering four beautiful children over a 2-year period 
and simultaneously gave their birth parents the chance to receive help 
to overcome problems that led to their children's removal from their 
home.
  Tampa Bay is blessed to have the Gladney Center for Adoption, 
Catholic Charities Adoption Services, Florida Baptist Children's Homes, 
Heart of Adoptions Alliance, and others on the front lines of this 
issue.
  This National Adoption Month, think of these kids as you sit at your 
Thanksgiving table, when you shop for Christmas, and, above all, when 
you consider growing your family. They need us.

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