[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 18 (Monday, May 5, 1997)]
[Page 617]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the House of Representatives Passage of the ``Adoption 
Promotion Act of 1997''

April 30, 1997

    I congratulate the House of Representatives on the passage of H.R. 
867, the Adoption Promotion Act of 1997. This bipartisan legislation 
will further our efforts to give the children waiting in the foster care 
system what ever child in America deserves--loving parents and a 
healthy, stable home.
    The First Lady and I have had a continuing commitment to uniting 
these waiting children with families to teach, guide, and care for them. 
In December, I directed the Department of Health and Human Services to 
come up with a strategy to simplify the adoption process and move more 
children more quickly from foster care into permanent homes. In response 
to this directive, HHS submitted Adoption 2002, a report which takes its 
name from one of its central goals--to double by the year 2002 the 
number of children adopted or permanently placed each year.
    The Adoption Promotion Act of 1997 incorporates many of the 
recommendations made in the administration's report. I urge Congress to 
keep this important legislation moving forward.