Cliff Stearns: “I am grateful to the Rules Committee for making this amendment in order that I might take this opportunity to lend the…”

“I am grateful to the Rules Committee for making this amendment in order that I might take this opportunity to lend the support of Congress to the Office of Children's Issues who will now act as the central authority on the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption. This office will act in the best interest of the child and the families by facilitating the placement of children in permanent homes while making certain that the strictest protection guidelines are in place throughout the process. There are too many children in this country and abroad who are growing up without a family. Tonight, around the world, no one knows how many children will go to bed in orphanages. There is no United State agency or international organization that counts the number of children who are warehoused in institutions. The U.S. has proven that it has an interest in and the ability to adopt children that would otherwise grow up without a family in their own country. This year the State Department expects that 21-25 thousand children will be brought to this country and placed in permanent, loving homes. That number speaks of a huge victory in the fight for abandoned children throughout the world. The numbers prove that the office of Children's Issues could be a powerful ally in the fight against the harmful institutionalization of children worldwide.”