IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 34 
Calling on the United States and Russia to continue cooperation in securing 
safe and loving homes for unparented children. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 15, 2013 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Calling on the United States and Russia to continue coopera-
tion in securing safe and loving homes for unparented 
children. 
Whereas in both the United States and Russia, the number 
of children in need of loving parents far outnumbers the 
families actively seeking to adopt; 
Whereas since 1991 more than 60,000 Russian children have 
found safe, permanent, and loving homes with United 
States families; 
Whereas in 19 cases, adopted Russian children have died 
from abuse or neglect in the care of their adoptive United 
States parents, and others have suffered abuse; 
Whereas Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 
20, 2012, regarding United States citizens who have 
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•HRES 34 IH 
adopted Russian children, ‘‘We know that tragedies hap-
pen but the vast majority of people who adopt Russian 
children take good care of them and are good, decent 
people’’; 
Whereas countries making children available for international 
adoption have the right and responsibility to set proce-
dural safeguards and criteria to ensure the children’s 
well-being; 
Whereas in response to cases of abuse and neglect, the Gov-
ernment of Russia negotiated the July 13, 2011, bilateral 
adoption agreement to strengthen procedural safeguards 
in the adoption process between the United States and 
Russia and to ensure the well-being of children adopted 
by United States families; 
Whereas the bilateral adoption agreement signed on July 13, 
2011, by United States Secretary of State Hillary 
Rodham Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey 
Lavrov entered into force between the United States and 
Russia on November 1, 2012; 
Whereas the Russian Government has expressed concern that 
the Russian Government’s efforts to check on the welfare 
of adopted Russian children and to monitor legal pro-
ceedings involving abuse against Russian children have 
not been accommodated consistently; 
Whereas, on December 28, 2012, Russian Federation Presi-
dent Vladimir Putin signed into law legislation entitled 
‘‘On Measures Concerning the Implementation of Govern-
ment Policy on Orphaned Children and those without Pa-
rental Care’’, which includes a ban on adoptions of Rus-
sian children by United States citizens, and may nega-
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•HRES 34 IH 
tively affect adoptions that are already in process or com-
pleted; 
Whereas 52, and possibly more, intercountry adoptions of 
Russian children by United States families are in the 
final legal stages of adoption in Russia, and hundreds of 
additional United States families had adoptions pending 
in Russia as of January 1, 2013; 
Whereas adoption, both domestic and international, is an im-
portant child protection tool and an integral part of child 
welfare best practices around the world, along with pre-
vention of abandonment and family reunification; and 
Whereas the United Nations, the Hague Conference on Pri-
vate International Law, and other international organiza-
tions have recognized a child’s right to a family as a 
basic human right worthy of protection: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) appeals to the Russian Government to allow 
the adoptions initiated before January 1, 2013, to 
proceed to conclusion; 
(2) invites the Government of Russia to con-
tinue participation in the bilateral adoption agree-
ment that went into force November 1, 2012; 
(3) expresses deep sadness over the untimely 
and tragic deaths in the United States of 19 adopted 
Russian children and over the other cases of abuse; 
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•HRES 34 IH 
(4) celebrates the tens of thousands of loving, 
safe United States families who have opened their 
homes and hearts to Russian children; 
(5) affirms the extensive work of the Russian 
Foreign Ministry and the United States Department 
of State to create safeguards against future abuse 
through the bilateral adoption agreement that went 
into force November 1, 2012; and 
(6) urges Federal, State, and local governments 
and adoptive families to accommodate official inquir-
ies into the well-being of adopted Russian children 
and to comply with all adoption requirements delin-
eated by the bilateral agreement, including the moni-
toring of the child’s living conditions and upbring-
ing, the submission of corresponding reports, and 
registration of the child with the Russian consulate. 
Æ 
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