[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18527-18528]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        ADOPTIONS OF RUSSIAN CHILDREN BY UNITED STATES CITIZENS

  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 628, submitted 
earlier today by Senators Landrieu and Blunt.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 628) expressing the deep 
     disappointment of the Senate in the enactment by the Russia 
     Government of a law ending inter-country adoptions of Russian 
     children by United States citizens and urging the Russia 
     Government to reconsider the law and prioritize the 
     processing of inter-country adoptions involving parentless 
     Russian children who were already matched with United States 
     families before the enactment of the law.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask that the Senate proceed to a voice 
vote on adoption of the resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate on the resolution?
  If not, the question is on agreeing to the resolution.
  The resolution (S. Res. 628) was agreed to.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the preamble 
be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be made and laid upon the 
table, with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 628

       Whereas United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates 
     that there are 740,000 children in Russia living without 
     parental care;
       Whereas the Ministry of Science and Education of Russia 
     estimates that 110,000 children live in state institutions in 
     Russia;
       Whereas the number of adoptions by Russian families is 
     modest, with only 7,400 domestic adoptions in 2011 compared 
     with 3,400 adoptions of Russian children by families abroad;
       Whereas on December 28, 2012, Russian Federation President 
     Vladimir Putin signed into law legislation entitled ``On 
     Measures Concerning the Implementation of Government Policy 
     on Orphaned Children and those without Parental Care'', which 
     includes language that permanently bans adoptions of Russian 
     children by United States citizens;
       Whereas a spokesman for President Putin, Dmitry Peskov, 
     announced that the law is to take effect on January 1, 2013, 
     thereby abrogating the bilateral agreement between Russia and 
     the United States that entered into force on November 1, 
     2012, and requires both countries to provide one year notice 
     of intent to terminate the agreement;
       Whereas 46, and possibly more, inter-country adoptions of 
     Russian children by United States families have already 
     received a final adoption decree from the Russia judicial 
     system, and hundreds of other United States

[[Page 18528]]

     families are in the process of adopting Russian children;
       Whereas United Nations Children's Fund released a statement 
     urging the Russia Government to ensure that ``the current 
     plight of the many Russian children in institutions receives 
     priority attention'' and that the Russia Government consider 
     alternatives to institutionalization including ``domestic 
     adoption and inter-country adoption'';
       Whereas the United Nations, the Hague Conference on Private 
     International Law, and other international organizations have 
     recognized a child's right to a family as a basic human right 
     worthy of protection;
       Whereas the Christian Alliance for Orphans reports that 
     United States families have opened their homes to more than 
     179,000 orphans from overseas in the last 20 years;
       Whereas after China and Ethiopia, Russia is the third most 
     popular country for United States citizens who adopt 
     internationally;
       Whereas adoption, both domestic and international, is an 
     important child protection tool and an integral part of child 
     welfare best practices around the world, along with 
     prevention of abandonment and family reunification: and
       Whereas more than 60,000 Russia-born children have found 
     safe, permanent, and loving homes with United States families 
     over the last two decades: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) affirms that all children deserve a permanent, 
     protective family;
       (2) values the long tradition of the United States and 
     Russia Governments working together to find permanent homes 
     for unparented children;
       (3) disapproves of the Russia law ending inter-country 
     adoptions of Russian children by United States citizens 
     because it primarily harms vulnerable and voiceless children; 
     and
       (4) strongly urges the Russia Government to reconsider the 
     law on humanitarian grounds, in consideration of the well-
     being of parentless Russian children awaiting a loving and 
     permanent family, and prioritize the processing of inter-
     country adoptions of Russian children by United States 
     citizens that were initiated before the enactment of the law.

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