Mike Collins: “I thank the chairman and the ranking member so much for their support in this and bringing this forward. Mr. Speaker, I…”

“I thank the chairman and the ranking member so much for their support in this and bringing this forward. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5626, the Intercountry Adoption Information Act. I introduced this legislation to make it easier for American families to get crucial information as they pursue adoptions from foreign countries. American families hoping to adopt from a foreign country can face many obstacles on the road to being united with their adoptive children. Too often, these challenges require parents to navigate confusing and complicated foreign adoption policies. The chairman did a great job explaining why this is opening up, why we are providing transparency, and also providing a great basis for this bill. Mr. Speaker, many times we come to this floor and we talk about the mechanics of a bill, but I want to talk about what I call the faces behind the bill. For this, for me, I have watched northeast Georgians from my district, like the Romano family, struggle under shifting adoption policies and changing international standards. In 2012, Pam and Mark Romano traveled to Russia to adopt a young boy named Bogdon, a decision they reached after much prayer and family discussion. While there, the Romanos discovered that Bogdon had a brother, Yura, although the boys were living separately. The family immediately felt a calling to welcome both boys into their home and began the process of adopting Yura as well.…”