•HRES 841 IH 
Whereas, according to the 2010 Report on Compliance with 
the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Inter-
national Child Abduction by the Department of State, re-
search shows that an abducted child is at risk of signifi-
cant short- and long-term problems, including ‘‘anxiety, 
eating problems, nightmares, mood swings, sleep disturb-
ances, [and] aggressive behavior’’; 
Whereas international parental child abduction has dev-
astating emotional consequences not only for the child, 
but also for the parent from whom the child is separated; 
Whereas the United States has a history of promoting child 
welfare through institutions including— 
(1) in the Department of Health and Human Serv-
ices— 
(A) the Administration for Child and Families; 
and 
(B) the Children’s Bureau; and 
(2) in the Department of State, the Office of Chil-
dren’s Issues; 
Whereas, over the previous 20 years, the National Center for 
Missing and Exploited Children has provided professional 
assistance and support services for international family 
abduction cases involving children wrongfully removed 
from or retained outside of the United States; 
Whereas the Coalition to End International Parental Child 
Abduction, through dedicated advocacy and regular testi-
mony, has highlighted the importance of this issue to 
Congress and called on successive administrations to take 
concerted action to stop international parental child ab-
duction; 
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•HRES 841 IH 
Whereas Congress has signaled a commitment to ending 
international parental child abduction by enacting the 
International Child Abduction Remedies Act (22 U.S.C. 
9001 et seq.), the International Parental Kidnapping 
Crime Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–173; 107 Stat. 
1998), and the Sean and David Goldman International 
Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2014 (22 
U.S.C. 9101 et seq.); 
Whereas Congress calls upon the Department of State to 
fully utilize the tools available under the Sean and David 
Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and 
Return Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.) to nego-
tiate, and make publicly available, bilateral agreements or 
memorandums of understanding, with countries not party 
to the Hague Convention on Abduction to resolve abduc-
tion and access cases, and to negotiate, and make pub-
licly available, bilateral agreements or memorandums of 
understanding, regarding open abduction and access 
cases predating the Hague Convention on Abduction with 
countries that have thereafter become a party to the 
Hague Convention on Abduction; 
Whereas all 50 States and the District of Columbia have en-
acted laws criminalizing parental kidnapping; 
Whereas, in 2018, the Prevention Branch of the Office of 
Children’s Issues of the Department of State— 
(1) fielded over 5,200 inquiries from the general 
public relating to preventing a child from being removed 
from the United States; and— 
(2) enrolled over 4,700 children in the Children’s 
Passport Issuance Alert Program, which— 
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•HRES 841 IH 
(A) is one of the most important tools of the 
Department of State for preventing international pa-
rental child abduction; and 
(B) allows the Office of Children’s Issues to 
contact the enrolling parent or legal guardian to 
verify whether the parental consent requirement has 
been met when a passport application has been sub-
mitted for an enrolled child; 
Whereas the Department of State cannot track the ultimate 
destination of a child through the use of the passport of 
the child issued by the Department of State if the child 
is transported to a third country after departing from the 
United States; 
Whereas a child who is a citizen of the United States may 
have another nationality and may travel using a passport 
issued by another country, which— 
(1) increases the difficulty in determining the where-
abouts of the child; and 
(2) makes efforts to prevent abductions all the more 
critical; 
Whereas, in 2018, the Department of Homeland Security, in 
coordination with the Prevention Branch of the Office of 
Children’s Issues of the Department of State, enrolled 
236 children in the Prevent Abduction Program, which is 
aimed at preventing international parental child abduc-
tion through coordination with Customs and Border Pa-
trol officers at airport, seaport, and land border ports-of- 
entry; and 
Whereas the United States should continue to play a leader-
ship role in raising awareness about the devastating im-
pacts of international parental child abduction by edu-
cating the public about the negative emotional, psycho-
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•HRES 841 IH 
logical, and physical consequences to children and par-
ents victimized by international parental child abduction: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports 
the recognition and observation of ‘‘International Parental 
Child Abduction Month’’ to raise awareness of, and oppo-
sition to, international parental child abduction. 
Æ 
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