(2) APPLICABILITY OF NOTICE AND COMMENT
RULES.—Subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section 553
of title 5, United States Code, shall apply in the de-
velopment and issuance of regulations under this
section.
(b) ACCESS TO CONVENTION RECORDS.—
(1) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the Secretary or the Attorney General
may disclose a Convention record, and access to
such a record may be provided in whole or in part,
only if such record is maintained under the authority
of the Immigration and Nationality Act and disclo-
sure of, or access to, such record is permitted or re-
quired by applicable Federal law.
(2) EXCEPTION FOR ADMINISTRATION OF THE
CONVENTION.—A Convention record may be dis-
closed, and access to such a record may be provided,
in whole or in part, among the Secretary, the Attor-
ney General, central authorities, accredited agencies,
and approved persons, only to the extent necessary
to administer the Convention or this Act.
(3) PENALTIES FOR UNLAWFUL DISCLOSURE.—
Unlawful disclosure of all or part of a Convention
record shall be punishable in accordance with appli-
cable Federal law.
(c) ACCESS TO NON-CONVENTION RECORDS.—Dis-
closure of, access to, and penalties for unlawful disclosure
of, adoption records that are not Convention records, in-
cluding records of adoption proceedings conducted in the
United States, shall be governed by applicable State law.
SEC. 402. DOCUMENTS OF OTHER CONVENTION COUN-
TRIES.
Documents originating in any other Convention coun-
try and related to a Convention adoption case shall require
no authentication in order to be admissible in any Federal,
State, or local court in the United States, unless a specific
and supported claim is made that the documents are false,
have been altered, or are otherwise unreliable.
SEC. 403. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; COLLEC-
TION OF FEES.
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to
agencies of the Federal Government implementing
the Convention and the provisions of this Act.
(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro-
priated pursuant to paragraph (1) are authorized to
remain available until expended.
(b) ASSESSMENT OF FEES.—
(1) The Secretary may charge a fee for new or
enhanced services that will be undertaken by the De-
partment of State to meet the requirements of this
Act with respect to intercountry adoptions under the
Convention and comparable services with respect to
other intercountry adoptions. Such fee shall be pre-
scribed by regulation and shall not exceed the cost
of such services.
(2) Fees collected under paragraph (1) shall be
retained and deposited as an offsetting collection to
any Department of State appropriation to recover
the costs of providing such services.
(3) Fees authorized under this section shall be
available for obligation only to the extent and in the
amount provided in advance in appropriations Acts.
(c) RESTRICTION.—No funds collected under the au-
thority of this section may be made available to an accred-
iting entity to carry out the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 404. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Any person who—
(1) violates section 201;
(2) makes a false or fraudulent statement, or
misrepresentation, with respect to a material fact, or
offers, gives, solicits, or accepts inducement by way
of compensation, intended to influence or affect in
the United States or a foreign country—
(A) a decision by an accrediting entity with
respect to the accreditation of an agency or ap-
proval of a person under title II;
(B) the relinquishment of parental rights
or the giving of parental consent relating to the
adoption of a child in a case subject to the Con-
vention; or
(C) a decision or action of any entity per-
forming a central authority function; or
(3) engages another person as an agent, wheth-
er in the United States or in a foreign country, who
in the course of that agency takes any of the actions
described in paragraph (1) or (2),
shall be subject, in addition to any other penalty that may
be prescribed by law, to a civil money penalty of not more
than $50,000 for a first violation, and not more than
$100,000 for each succeeding violation.
(b) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.—
(1) AUTHORITY OF ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The
Attorney General may bring a civil action to enforce
subsection (a) against any person in any United
States district court.
(2) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN IMPOSING
PENALTIES.—In imposing penalties the court shall
consider the gravity of the violation, the degree of
culpability of the defendant, and any history of prior
violations by the defendant.
(c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Whoever knowingly and
willfully violates paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a)
shall be subject to a fine of not more than $250,000, im-
prisonment for not more than 5 years, or both.
TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 501. RECOGNITION OF CONVENTION ADOPTIONS.
Subject to Article 24 of the Convention, adoptions
concluded between two other Convention countries that
meet the requirements of Article 23 of the Convention and
that became final before the date of entry into force of
the Convention for the United States shall be recognized
thereafter in the United States and given full effect. Such
recognition shall include the specific effects described in
Article 26 of the Convention.
SEC. 502. SPECIAL RULES FOR CERTAIN CASES.
(a) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH ALTERNATIVE PRO-
CEDURES FOR ADOPTION OF CHILDREN BY RELATIVES.—
To the extent consistent with the Convention, the Sec-
retary may establish by regulation alternative procedures
for the adoption of children by individuals related to them
by blood, marriage, or adoption, in cases subject to the
Convention.
(b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Act, to the extent consistent with
the Convention, the Secretary may, on a case-by-
case basis, waive applicable requirements of this Act
or regulations issued under this Act, in the interests
of justice or to prevent grave physical harm to the
child.
(2) NONDELEGATION.—The authority provided
by paragraph (1) may not be delegated.
SEC. 503. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.
(a) PREEMPTION OF INCONSISTENT STATE LAW.—
The Convention and this Act shall not be construed to pre-
empt any provision of the law of any State or political
subdivision thereof, or prevent a State or political subdivi-
sion thereof from enacting any provision of law with re-
spect to the subject matter of the Convention or this Act,
except to the extent that such provision of State law is
inconsistent with the Convention or this Act, and then
only to the extent of the inconsistency.
(b) APPLICABILITY OF THE INDIAN CHILD WELFARE
ACT.—The Convention and this Act shall not be construed
to affect the application of the Indian Child Welfare Act
of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.).
(c) RELATIONSHIP
TO
OTHER
LAWS.—Sections
3506(c), 3507, and 3512 of title 44, United States Code,
shall not apply to information collection for purposes of
sections 104, 202(b)(4), and 303(d) of this Act or for use
as a Convention record as defined in this Act.
SEC. 504. NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.
The Convention and this Act shall not be construed
to create a private right of action to seek administrative
or judicial relief, except to the extent expressly provided
in this Act.
SEC. 505. EFFECTIVE DATES; TRANSITION RULE.
(a) EFFECTIVE DATES.—
(1) PROVISIONS
EFFECTIVE
UPON
ENACT-
MENT.—Sections 2, 3, 101 through 103, 202
through 205, 401(a), 403, 503, and 505(a) shall
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) PROVISIONS EFFECTIVE UPON THE ENTRY
INTO FORCE OF THE CONVENTION.—Subject to sub-
section (b), the provisions of this Act not specified
in paragraph (1) shall take effect upon the entry
into force of the Convention for the United States
pursuant to Article 46(2)(a) of the Convention.
(b) TRANSITION RULE.—The Convention and this
Act shall not apply—
(1) in the case of a child immigrating to the
United States, if the application for advance proc-
essing of an orphan petition or petition to classify an
orphan as an immediate relative for the child is filed
before the effective date described in subsection
(a)(2); or
(2) in the case of a child emigrating from the
United States, if the prospective adoptive parents of
the child initiated the adoption process in their
country of residence with the filing of an appropriate
application before the effective date described in
subsection (a)(2).
Passed the House of Representatives July 18, 2000.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.
Calendar No. 692
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2909
AN ACT
To provide for implementation by the United States
of the Hague Convention on Protection of Chil-
dren and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry
Adoption, and for other purposes.
JULY 19, 2000
Received; read twice and placed on the calendar