I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2518 

To implement certain measures to increase the effectiveness of international 

child abduction remedies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 24, 2007 

Mr. LAMPSON (for himself, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. AL GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. 

BRALEY of Iowa, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. LEWIS

of Georgia, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. MITCHELL, 

Mr. HINOJOSA, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. GENE GREEN

of Texas, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. WALZ of Minnesota, Mr. 

HILL, Ms. SOLIS, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. KIND, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. KAGEN, Mr. HODES, and Mr. PERLMUTTER) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs and 

Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To implement certain measures to increase the effectiveness 

of international child abduction remedies, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bring Our Children 

3 Home Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE MISSING CHILDREN’S ASSIST5 ANCE ACT. 

6 Section 403(1) of the Missing Children’s Assistance 

7 Act (42 U.S.C. 5772(1)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 

9 by striking ‘‘whose whereabouts are unknown to 

10 such individual’s legal custodian if’’, 

11 (2) in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)— 

12 (A) by redesignating such subparagraphs 

13 as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively, and 

14 (B) by indenting the left margin of such 

15 subparagraphs 2 ems to the right, 

16 (3) by inserting before clause (i), as so redesig17 nated, the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) whose whereabouts is unknown to 

19 such individual’s legal custodian if—’’, and 

20 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(B) whose whereabouts is known to such 

22 individual’s legal custodian from whose control 

23 such child— 

24 ‘‘(i) was removed in violation of law; 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is believed by such custodian to 

2 have been taken out of the United States 

3 without the consent of such custodian by, 

4 or for the benefit of, an individual who 

5 may possibly claim custodial rights with re6 spect to such child;’’. 

7 SEC. 3. INVESTIGATIVE ASSISTANCE TO LAW ENFORCE8 MENT AGENCIES TO LOCATE ALIEN CHIL9 DREN MISSING IN THE UNITED STATES. 

10 The Attorney General shall make available to State 

11 and local law enforcement agencies, information describing 

12 the methods and procedures available to them to institute 

13 or assist an investigative search for an alien child who is 

14 believed to be in the United States and who is the subject 

15 of— 

16 (1) an application under the Hague Convention 

17 on the Civil Aspects of International Parental Child 

18 Abduction, or 

19 (2) an Interpol yellow notice. 

20 SEC. 4. STATE REQUIREMENTS. 

21 Section 3702 of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 

22 U.S.C. 5780) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

24 end, and 

25 (2) in paragraph (3)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ 

2 at the end, 

3 (B) in subparagraph (C) by striking the 

4 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and 

5 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(D) a statement specifying whether the 

8 child is believed to have been taken outside of 

9 the United States;’’. 

10 SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUC11 TION REMEDIES ACT. 

12 (a) LEGAL ASSISTANCE, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, 

13 AND TRAINING.—Section 7 of the International Child Ab14 duction Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11606) is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following new subsections: 

16 ‘‘(g) LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF PARENTAL

17 KIDNAPPING GRANTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) FUNDING TO LEGAL SERVICES PRO19 VIDERS.—The United States Central Authority shall 

20 establish a program to provide funding to legal serv21 ices providers, including private attorneys, public of22 ficials acting pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody 

23 Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, legal aid pro24 grams, and law school clinical programs, to provide 

25 direct legal or advocacy services on behalf of persons 


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1 seeking remedies under the Convention, or other 

2 civil or criminal remedies in interstate or inter3 national parental kidnapping cases. 

4 ‘‘(2) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

5 The United States Central Authority, directly or 

6 through grants, shall provide training and technical 

7 assistance to recipients of funds under paragraph 

8 (1) to improve their capacity to offer legal assistance 

9 described in paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The United States 

11 Central Authority shall encourage the Chief Justice of 

12 every State and the District of Columbia to designate a 

13 single court, or a limited number of courts, in which cases 

14 brought under the Convention may be heard. The United 

15 States Central Authority may provide technical assistance 

16 (including computers and Internet access) as necessary to 

17 foster consolidation of jurisdiction and implementation of 

18 the Convention, consistent with the purposes of the Con19 vention. 

20 ‘‘(i) TRAINING.—The United States Central Author21 ity shall provide or promote training of State court judges, 

22 lawyers, and law students on the civil and criminal laws 

23 pertaining to interstate and international parental kidnap24 ping. To carry out this subsection, the United States Cen25 tral Authority may make available funds under subsection 


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1 (e) to State judicial educators, national, State, and local 

2 bar associations, and law schools. The United States Cen3 tral Authority shall require recipients of such funds to re4 port on the training programs they present, including the 

5 number of participants.’’. 

6 (b) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION.—The Legal 

7 Services Corporation may use funds made available to the 

8 Corporation for programs to represent aliens in pro9 ceedings brought in the United States under the Conven10 tion— 

11 (1) if the individuals to whom the representa12 tion is provided otherwise meet the criteria of the 

13 Corporation for eligible clients under the Legal Serv14 ices Corporation Act; and 

15 (2) whether or not such individuals are resident 

16 in the United States. 

17 (c) COURT COSTS.—Section 8(b) of the International 

18 Child Abduction Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11607(b)) is 

19 amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(b) COSTS INCURRED IN CIVIL ACTIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) PAYMENT OF COURT COSTS BY CEN22 TRAL AUTHORITY.—The Central Authority shall 

23 establish a program under which it provides, di24 rectly to the court or to petitioners and re25 spondents, the funds necessary to pay the court 


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1 costs of petitioners and respondents in actions 

2 brought under section 4, including court fees 

3 and the cost of translation services, expert wit4 ness testimony, and transcription services. 

5 ‘‘(2) COSTS OF LEGAL COUNSEL AND

6 TRAVEL.—Petitioners may be required to bear 

7 the costs of legal counsel or advisors and travel 

8 costs for the return of the child involved and 

9 any accompanying persons, except as provided 

10 in paragraphs (3) and (4). 

11 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS FROM OTHER SOURCES.— 

12 Subject to paragraph (4), legal fees incurred in 

13 connection with an action brought under section 

14 4 shall be borne by the petitioner unless they 

15 are covered by payments from Federal, State, 

16 or local legal assistance or other programs. 

17 ‘‘(4) COSTS BORNE BY PETITIONER.—Any 

18 court ordering the return of a child pursuant to 

19 an action brought under section 4 shall order 

20 the respondent to pay necessary expenses in21 curred by or on behalf of the petitioner (other 

22 than court costs for which the Central Author23 ity pays under paragraph (1)), including legal 

24 fees, foster home or other care during the 

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1 portation costs related to the return of the 

2 child, unless the respondent establishes that 

3 such order would be clearly inappropriate.’’. 

4 (d) FEDERAL JUDICIAL CENTER.—Section 620 of 

5 title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘(c) CONTINUING EDUCATION AND TRAINING PRO8 GRAMS.—The Center shall include in its continuing edu9 cation and training programs under subsection (b)(3), in10 cluding the training programs for newly appointed judges, 

11 information on the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects 

12 of International Child Abduction, the International Child 

13 Abduction Remedies Act, the International Parental Kid14 napping Crime Act of 1993, and other Federal statutes 

15 pertaining to parental kidnapping within the jurisdiction 

16 of the Federal courts, and shall prepare materials nec17 essary to carry out this subsection.’’. 

18 SEC. 6. REPORTS RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD AB19 DUCTION. 

20 (a) REPORT ON PROGRESS IN NEGOTIATING BILAT21 ERAL TREATIES WITH NON-HAGUE CONVENTION COUN22 TRIES.—The Secretary of State shall prepare and submit 

23 to the Congress an annual report on progress made by 

24 the United States in negotiating and entering into bilat25 eral treaties (or other international agreements) relating 


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1 to international child abduction with countries that are not 

2 contracting parties to the Hague Convention on the Civil 

3 Aspects of International Child Abduction. 

4 (b) REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.—(1) 

5 Section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

6 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) is amended— 

7 (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

8 end and inserting a semicolon; 

9 (B) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 

10 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(9) the status of efforts in each country to 

13 prohibit international child abduction, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) efforts to expedite the return of chil15 dren to the country of their habitual residence; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the country re18 spects the rights of custody and of access under 

19 the laws of other countries.’’. 

20 (2) Section 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act 

21 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(b)) is amended by inserting after 

22 the sixth sentence the following: ‘‘Each report under this 

23 section shall include information on the status of efforts 

24 in each country to prohibit international child abduction, 

25 including efforts to expedite the return of children to the 


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1 country of their habitual residence and the extent to which 

2 the country respects the rights of custody and of access 

3 under the laws of other countries.’’. 

4 (c) REPORT ON ENFORCEMENT OF SECTION 1204 OF

5 TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE.—The Attorney Gen6 eral, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall pre7 pare and submit to the Congress an annual report that 

8 contains a description of the status of each case involving 

9 a request during the preceding year for extradition to the 

10 United States of an individual alleged to have violated sec11 tion 1204 of title 18, United States Code. 

12 SEC. 7. STUDY ON COOPERATION OF AIRLINE INDUSTRY. 

13 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Transportation shall 

14 conduct a study of— 

15 (1) the extent to which the domestic and for16 eign airline industries cooperate with the investiga17 tion of international child abduction cases, including 

18 cooperation with the Department of State, the De19 partment of Justice, and the National Center for 

20 Missing & Exploited Children; and 

21 (2) any practices and procedures necessary to 

22 improve the ability of the domestic and foreign air23 line industries to cooperate with the investigation of 

24 international child abduction cases. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor3 tation shall submit to Congress a report on the results 

4 of the study conducted under subsection (a). 

5 SEC. 8. ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THE INVESTIGATION AND 

6 PROSECUTION OF PARENTAL KIDNAPPING. 

7 In addition to funds otherwise authorized to be ap8 propriated for the activities described in this section, there 

9 are authorized to be appropriated to the Child Exploi10 tation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice 

11 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2012 such sums 

12 as may be necessary for the investigation and prosecution 

13 of violations of section 1204 of title 18, United States 

14 Code. 

15 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR EXTRADITION. 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated for each of 

17 fiscal years 2009 through 2012 such funds as may be nec18 essary for the costs of extraditing individuals from foreign 

19 countries to the United States for violations of laws in 

20 the United States by reason of unlawfully removing a child 

21 from the child’s custodial parent. 

22 SEC. 10. GRANTS FOR TRAVEL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH 

23 THE SAFE RETURN OF ABDUCTED CHILDREN. 

24 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Director of the 

25 Office of Victims of Crime of the Department of Justice 


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1 shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, estab2 lish a Victim Travel in International Reunification Cases 

3 program to award grants to the National Center for Miss4 ing & Exploited Children to reimburse parents, guardians, 

5 law enforcement, and other individuals, as appropriate, for 

6 travel costs related to the safe return of children from the 

7 United States who have been abducted and taken to for8 eign countries. 

9 (b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Travel costs under sub10 section (a) that are reimbursed using funds under this sec11 tion may include airfare and daily subsistence costs, in12 cluding lodging, meals, and ground transportation. 

13 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $250,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2012. 

Æ 


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