Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, this measure, the International Adoption Simplification Act, corrects two problems and inconsistencies with respect to adoptions of foreign children by United States citizen parents. The bill would harmonize age requirements for children subject to inter-country adoptions, irrespective of whether the child's home country is a signatory to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions. Currently, the law contains two age requirements related to the adoption of foreign children. The general rule is that an adoption must be finalized before the child turns 16 in order for the child to qualify for legal status in the United States. The law also provides an exception to this age requirement for the siblings of such an adopted child. This exception, meant to keep siblings together where possible, provides that the sibling of an adopted child may also get legal status in the United States as long as the sibling's adoption takes place before his or her 18th birthday. Now, strangely enough, this exception is available only if the sibling comes from a country that has not signed the Hague Convention. The exception is not available to siblings from signatory countries. Please do not ask me why this exists in the law. But Senate 1376 remedies this problem by expanding the sibling age exception to signatory countries.”