[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 11, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1699-S1700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CITIZENSHIP FOR CHILDREN OF MILITARY MEMBERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS ACT

  Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I rise today to applaud my colleagues 
for passing H.R. 4803, Citizenship for Children of Military Members and 
Civil Servants Act, without amendment by unanimous consent.
  Last year, Senator Johnny Isakson joined me in introducing the 
bipartisan Senate companion to H.R. 4803 to make sure that when 
children of U.S. citizens serving in the U.S. Armed Forces or working 
for the U.S. Government are born abroad because their parents are 
serving our Nation overseas, they automatically acquire U.S. 
citizenship.
  The unanimous passage of the Citizenship for Children of Military 
Members and Civil Servants Act by the U.S. House of Representatives and 
the U.S. Senate sends a strong message that children born to American 
parents serving our country abroad are just as worthy of automatic 
citizenship as any other child in this country.
  This principle should not be controversial. That is why for the past 
15 years, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services considered children 
of members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Federal Government employees 
stationed outside the United States to be deemed as ``residing in the 
United States'' for the purpose of automatically acquiring citizenship.
  This policy was pragmatic and cut burdensome redtape for American 
parents willing to serve our Nation abroad

[[Page S1700]]

as U.S. servicemembers or civil servants. It provided flexibility and 
allowed U.S. citizen parents to meet residency requirements for 
acquisition of citizenship while serving overseas. It kept American 
parents from cutting their overseas commitment short to establish 
residency so their children could earn citizenship. This policy allowed 
their children to enjoy the same privileges of acquiring citizenship, 
as if their parents were working and living within our country's 
borders.
  However, in August 2019, the Trump administration enacted a policy 
change to reverse this practice. Under this new policy, certain 
Americans serving their Nation abroad, in uniform or in the civil 
service, must apply for citizenship on behalf of their children. These 
parents now have to navigate a complex bureaucratic process and spend 
hundreds of dollars on an application, with no guarantee that their 
children will receive citizenship of the very country they are serving 
abroad in uniform or as a Federal employee.
  In fact, this policy change caused Republican and Democratic 
lawmakers to recognize that current citizenship laws disadvantage these 
patriotic families. Our citizenship laws and bureaucratic requirements 
inflict undue burden on these families and make American parents 
``prove'' that their children are worthy of U.S. citizenship.
  As a combat veteran, I understand the challenges and family stressors 
that face Active-Duty members deployed to defend our Nation overseas. 
Congress should be helping U.S. servicemembers focus on achieving their 
mission. Providing U.S. servicemembers and civil servants with the 
peace of mind that they will not have to navigate a lengthy and 
expensive process to apply for U.S. citizenship for their children 
advances this important goal.
  Our commonsense legislation codifies the previous policy by 
clarifying the Immigration and Nationality Act to clearly require that 
children of U.S. citizen parents born in a foreign nation while their 
parents are stationed abroad automatically acquire U.S. citizenship.
  I urge the President to honor the service and dedication of our U.S. 
servicemembers, military families, and Federal workforce by signing the 
Citizenship for Children of Military Members and Civil Servants Act 
into law.

                          ____________________