[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S643-S644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 487--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, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Crapo, Ms. Harris, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Booker, Mr. Cornyn, 
Ms. Klobuchar, and Mr. Markey) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 487

       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 11,500 children were reported abducted 
     from the United States between 2008 and 2018;
       Whereas, during 2018, 1 or more cases of international 
     parental child abduction involving children who are citizens 
     of the United States were identified in 107 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 2018, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, 
     India, Jordan, Lebanon, 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 (as defined in section 3 of that Act (22 U.S.C. 
     9101));
       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, condemning the international 
     abduction of children;
       Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 431, 115th 
     Congress, on April 19, 2018, to raise awareness of, and 
     opposition to, international parental child abduction;
       Whereas all 50 States and the District of Columbia have 
     enacted laws criminalizing parental kidnapping;
       Whereas, in 2018, the Prevention Branch of the Office of 
     Children's Issues of the Department of State--
       (1) fielded more than 5,200 inquiries from the general 
     public relating to preventing a child from being removed from 
     the United States; and
       (2) enrolled more than 4,700 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;
       Whereas, during 2018, 232 children were returned to the 
     United States and an additional 174 cases were resolved in 
     other ways; and
       Whereas, in 2018, the Department of Homeland Security, in 
     coordination with the Prevention Branch of the Office of 
     Children's Issues of the Department of State, enrolled 236 
     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, 2020, and ending on April 30, 2020, to raise 
     awareness of, and opposition to, international parental child 
     abduction; and

[[Page S644]]

       (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.

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