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 inhu-
mane institutions; 
Whereas United States citizens responded to the dire situa-
tion 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 Ro-
mania; 
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) re-
ported in March 2005 that more than 9,000 children a 
year are abandoned in Romania’s maternity wards or pe-
diatric 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 aban-
doned children in Romania today living in state institu-
tions, an additional 49,000 living in temporary arrange-
•HRES 578 EH 
ments, such as foster care, and an unknown number of 
children living on the streets and in maternity and pedi-
atric hospitals; 
Whereas, on December 28, 1994, Romania ratified the 
Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-op-
eration in Respect of Intercountry Adoption which recog-
nizes that ‘‘intercountry adoption may offer the advan-
tage 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 perma-
nent family for children who are orphaned or abandoned 
by their biological parents; 
Whereas UNICEF’s official position on intercountry adop-
tion, in pertinent part, states: ‘‘For children who cannot 
be raised by their own families, an appropriate alter-
native 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 adop-
tion 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 adop-
tion.’’; 
Whereas unsubstantiated allegations have been made about 
the fate of children adopted from Romania and the quali-
fications and motives of those who adopt internationally; 
Whereas in June 2001, the Romanian Adoption Committee 
imposed a moratorium on intercountry adoption, but con-
tinued to accept new intercountry adoption applications
•HRES 578 EH 
and allowed many such applications to be processed 
under an exception for extraordinary circumstances; 
Whereas on June 21, 2004, the Parliament of Romania en-
acted 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 en-
acted Law 273/2004 on adoption, which prohibits inter-
country adoption except by a child’s biological grand-
parent or grandparents; 
Whereas there is no European Union law or regulation re-
stricting intercountry adoptions to biological grand-
parents or requiring that restrictive laws be passed as a 
prerequisite for accession to the European Union; 
Whereas the number of Romanian children adopted domesti-
cally is far less than the number abandoned and has de-
clined 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 inter-
country adoption cases were pending with the Govern-
ment of Romania in which children had been matched 
with adoptive parents in the United States, and approxi-
mately 1,500 cases were pending in which children had 
been matched with prospective parents in Western Eu-
rope; and 
Whereas Romanian children, and all children, deserve to be 
raised in permanent families: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
•HRES 578 EH 
(1) supports the desire of the Government of Roma-
nia 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 Adminis-
trator of the United States Agency for International De-
velopment to work collaboratively with the Government 
of Romania to achieve these ends; and 
(5) requests that the European Union and its mem-
ber States not impede the Government of Romania’s ef-
forts to place orphaned or abandoned children in perma-
nent homes in a manner that is consistent with Roma-
nia’s obligations under the Hague Convention on Protec-
tion of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-
country Adoption.
Attest: 
Clerk.