[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 12005]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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    SENATE RESOLUTION 502--CONCERNING THE SUSPENSION OF EXIT PERMIT 
  ISSUANCE BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO FOR 
  ADOPTED CONGOLESE CHILDREN SEEKING TO DEPART THE COUNTRY WITH THEIR 
                            ADOPTIVE PARENTS

  Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Alexander, Ms. Ayotte, 
Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Boozman, Mrs. 
Boxer, Mr. Brown, Mr. Burr, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Coats, Ms. 
Collins, Mr. Corker, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Donnelly, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Enzi, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Franken, Mrs. 
Gillibrand, Mr. Grassley, Mrs. Hagan, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. 
Johanns, Mr. Johnson of Wisconsin, Mr. King, Mr. Kirk, Ms. Klobuchar, 
Mr. Levin, Mr. Markey, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. McCain, Mr. McConnell, Ms. 
Mikulski, Mr. Moran, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Paul, Mr. Rubio, 
Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Tester, Mr. Thune, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Warner, 
Ms. Warren, and Mr. Wicker) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 502

       Whereas according to UNICEF, over 4,000,000 orphans are 
     estimated to be living in the Democratic Republic of Congo;
       Whereas cyclical and violent conflict has plagued the 
     Democratic Republic of Congo since the mid-1990s;
       Whereas the United States has made significant financial 
     investments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, providing an 
     estimated $274,000,000 bilateral aid to the Democratic 
     Republic of Congo in fiscal year 2013 and an additional 
     $165,000,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance;
       Whereas the policy of the United States Government toward 
     the Democratic Republic of Congo is ``focused on helping the 
     country become a nation that . . . provides for the basic 
     needs of its citizens'';
       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 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 family 
     reunification and prevention of abandonment;
       Whereas, on September 27, 2013, the Congolese Ministry of 
     Interior and Security, General Direction of Migration, 
     informed the United States Embassy in Kinshasa that effective 
     September 25, 2013, they had suspended issuance of exit 
     permits to adopted Congolese children seeking to depart the 
     country with their adoptive parents;
       Whereas there are United States families with finalized 
     adoptions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the 
     necessary legal paperwork and visas ready to travel home with 
     these children but are currently unable to do so; and
       Whereas, on December 19, 2013, the Congolese Minister of 
     Justice, Minister of Interior and Security, and the General 
     Direction of Migration confirmed to members of the United 
     States Department of State that the current suspension on the 
     issuance of exit permits continues: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) affirms that all children deserve a safe, loving, and 
     permanent family;
       (2) recognizes the importance of ensuring that 
     international adoptions of all children are conducted in an 
     ethical and transparent manner;
       (3) expresses concern over the impact on children and 
     families caused by the current suspension of exit permit 
     issuance within the Democratic Republic of Congo;
       (4) respectfully requests that the Government of the 
     Democratic Republic of Congo--
       (A) resume processing adoption cases and issuing exit 
     permits via the Ministry of Gender and Family's 
     Interministerial Adoption Committee and Directorate of 
     General Migration;
       (B) prioritize the processing of intercountry adoptions 
     which were initiated before the suspension; and
       (C) expedite the processing of those adoptions which 
     involve medically fragile children; and
       (5) encourages continued dialogue and cooperation between 
     the United States Department of State and the Democratic 
     Republic of the Congo's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to 
     improve the intercountry adoption process and ensure the 
     welfare of all children adopted from the Democratic Republic 
     of Congo.

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