    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [May 6, 1996]
    [Pages 693-694]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Letter to Congressional Leaders on Proposed Legislation To Promote
    Adoption
    May 6, 1996

    Dear __________:
        I am writing to express my strong support for The Adoption Promotion
    and Stability Act of 1996. Today, families seeking to adopt children
    face significant barriers, including high adoption costs, complex
    regulations, and outdated assumptions. I am committed to breaking down
    these barriers and making adoption easier. Promoting adoption is one of
    the most important things we can do to strengthen American

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    families and give more children what every child in America deserves--
    loving parents and a healthy home. This legislation will help children
    in need of adoptive homes to be united with devoted parents.
        My Administration has worked hard to promote adoption in general,
    and adoption of children with special needs in particular. We championed
    the Family and Medical Leave Act which enables parents to take time off
    to adopt a child without losing their jobs or their health insurance. We
    strongly supported the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act to help increase the
    number of adoptions by prohibiting discrimination based on race or
    ethnicity, and we remain committed to enforcing that law vigorously. As
    part of our 1993 deficit reduction package, I signed into law a
    provision that requires ERISA plans to provide the same health coverage
    for adopted children as for biological children of plan participants. We
    have worked to preserve Federal support for adoption of children with
    special needs, and increased by 60 percent the number of children with
    special needs who have been adopted with Federal adoption assistance.
        But together we can and must do more. I strongly support the
    adoption tax credit in this bill. It will alleviate a significant
    barrier to adoption and allow middle class families, for whom adoption
    may be prohibitively expensive, to adopt children to love and nurture.
    It will encourage adoption of children with special needs. It will put
    parents seeking to build a family through adoption on a more equal
    footing with other families.
        I believe that the bill is consistent with the Administration's
    policy and my longstanding goal to end the historical bias against
    interracial adoptions, which too often has meant interminable waits for
    children to be matched with parents of the same race. The Administration
    also has some concerns regarding some of the provisions used to offset
    the cost of the bill and would like to work with the Congress on these
    provisions. In addition, we need to ensure that unnecessary provisions
    are not included in the legislation.
        The Adoption Promotion and Stability Act is an important first step
    toward meeting the challenge of removing barriers to adoption. I look
    forward to working with you so that the dreams of the waiting children
    in this country to have permanent homes and loving families can become a
    reality.
        Sincerely,

                                                                Bill Clinton

    Note: Identical letters were sent to Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House
    of Representatives; Richard K. Armey, House majority leader; Richard A.
    Gephardt, House minority leader; and Bill Archer, chairman, and Sam
    Gibbons, ranking member, House Committee on Ways and Means. This letter
    was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on May 6 but was
    not issued as a White House press release.