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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 578 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 578

                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                         April 6, 2006.
Whereas following the execution of Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, 
        it was discovered that more than 100,000 underfed, neglected children 
        throughout Romania were living in hundreds of squalid and inhumane 
        institutions;
Whereas United States citizens responded to the dire situation of these children 
        with an outpouring of compassion and assistance to improve conditions in 
        those institutions and to provide for the needs of abandoned children in 
        Romania;
Whereas, between 1990 and 2004, United States citizens adopted more than 8,200 
        Romanian children, with a similar response from Western Europe;
Whereas the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported in March 2005 that 
        more than 9,000 children a year are abandoned in Romania's maternity 
        wards or pediatric hospitals and that child abandonment in Romania in 
        ``2003 and 2004 was no different from that occurring 10, 20, or 30 years 
        ago'';
Whereas there are approximately 37,000 orphaned or abandoned children in Romania 
        today living in state institutions, an additional 49,000 living in 
        temporary arrangements, such as foster care, and an unknown number of 
        children living on the streets and in maternity and pediatric hospitals;
Whereas, on December 28, 1994, Romania ratified the Hague Convention on 
        Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry 
        Adoption which recognizes that ``intercountry adoption may offer the 
        advantage of a permanent family to a child for whom a suitable family 
        cannot be found in his or her State of origin'';
Whereas intercountry adoption offers the hope of a permanent family for children 
        who are orphaned or abandoned by their biological parents;
Whereas UNICEF's official position on intercountry adoption, in pertinent part, 
        states: ``For children who cannot be raised by their own families, an 
        appropriate alternative family environment should be sought in 
        preference to institutional care, which should be used only as a last 
        resort and as a temporary measure. Inter-country adoption is one of a 
        range of care options which may be open to children, and for individual 
        children who cannot be placed in a permanent family setting in their 
        countries of origin, it may indeed be the best solution. In each case, 
        the best interests of the individual child must be the guiding principle 
        in making a decision regarding adoption.'';
Whereas unsubstantiated allegations have been made about the fate of children 
        adopted from Romania and the qualifications and motives of those who 
        adopt internationally;
Whereas in June 2001, the Romanian Adoption Committee imposed a moratorium on 
        intercountry adoption, but continued to accept new intercountry adoption 
        applications and allowed many such applications to be processed under an 
        exception for extraordinary circumstances;
Whereas on June 21, 2004, the Parliament of Romania enacted Law 272/2004 on 
        ``the protection and promotion of the rights of the child,'' which 
        creates new requirements for declaring a child legally available for 
        adoption;
Whereas on June 21, 2004, the Parliament of Romania enacted Law 273/2004 on 
        adoption, which prohibits intercountry adoption except by a child's 
        biological grandparent or grandparents;
Whereas there is no European Union law or regulation restricting intercountry 
        adoptions to biological grandparents or requiring that restrictive laws 
        be passed as a prerequisite for accession to the European Union;
Whereas the number of Romanian children adopted domestically is far less than 
        the number abandoned and has declined further since enactment of Law 
        272/2004 and 273/2004 due to new, overly burdensome requirements for 
        adoption;
Whereas prior to enactment of Law 273/2004, 211 intercountry adoption cases were 
        pending with the Government of Romania in which children had been 
        matched with adoptive parents in the United States, and approximately 
        1,500 cases were pending in which children had been matched with 
        prospective parents in Western Europe; and
Whereas Romanian children, and all children, deserve to be raised in permanent 
        families: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the desire of the Government of Romania to improve the 
        standard of care and well-being of children in Romania;
            (2) urges the Government of Romania to complete the processing of 
        the intercountry adoption cases which were pending when Law 273/2004 was 
        enacted;
            (3) urges the Government of Romania to amend its child welfare and 
        adoption laws to decrease barriers to adoption, both domestically and 
        intercountry, including by allowing intercountry adoption by persons 
        other than biological grandparents;
            (4) urges the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United 
        States Agency for International Development to work collaboratively with 
        the Government of Romania to achieve these ends; and
            (5) requests that the European Union and its member States not 
        impede the Government of Romania's efforts to place orphaned or 
        abandoned children in permanent homes in a manner that is consistent 
        with Romania's obligations under the Hague Convention on Protection of 
        Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
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