Supporting the goals and ideals of National Adoption Day and National Adoption Month by promoting national awareness of adoption and the children in foster care awaiting families, celebrating children and families involved in adoption, recognizing current programs and efforts designed to promote adoption, and encouraging people in the United States to seek improved safety, permanency, and well-being for all children.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1648) supporting the goals and ideals of National Adoption Day and National Adoption Month by promoting national awareness of adoption and the children in foster care awaiting families, celebrating children and families involved in adoption, recognizing current programs and efforts designed to promote adoption, and encouraging people in the United States to seek improved safety, permanency, and well-being for all children.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 1648.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1648, which supports the goals and the ideals of National Adoption Day and National Adoption Month. Children deserve nothing less than to grow up in a safe, stable, and loving home. While the vast majority of children are raised in such settings, there are a number of vulnerable children who are victims of child maltreatment or may have lost their parents in a tragedy and are now in search of a new home to call their own.

Today, there are more than 423,000 children in the foster care system in this country. Many of these children will be reunited with their biological parents when it is safe for them to do so, while others will find a permanent home with a grandparent or other relative. Meanwhile, more than 114,000 children will be unable to safely return to their biological parents and need to find a new home.

Over the last several years, Congress has worked in a bipartisan manner to provide services that promote foster care outcomes for children in foster care that are positive and to facilitate the timely placement of a child into an adoptive home. In 2008, Congress passed the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, which provided an array of new services to strengthen the foster care system. The legislation expanded the number of permanency options made available to children who are in search of new homes by allowing States to use Federal assistance to relatives to agree to become the legal guardians of foster children. The bill also extended and improved the Adoption Incentives Program and required States to inform prospective adoptive parents of their potential eligibility for the Federal Adoption Tax Credit.

So far, we have seen positive results in the area of adoption. Last year, 57,000 children were adopted out of foster care. That's a 3.5 percent increase over the previous year. The increase in the number of children adopted out of care reflects a trend that occurred over the last several years. Since 2006, the number of children adopted out of foster care has increased by 10.5 percent. Remarkably, this increase has occurred as the number of children who are served by the foster care system has steadily declined by 14 percent over the same period.

Earlier this year, as part of the landmark legislation that provided for health care coverage to all Americans, additional incentives and initiatives were taken to promote adoption. The Affordable Care Act included legislation that repealed the sunset date on the adoption tax credit for 1 year--from 2010 to 2011--and increased the maximum amount under the credit. The legislation also made the Adoption Tax Credit refundable for tax years 2010 and 2011.

While Congress has had great success in promoting the adoption of children out of foster care, there are still far too many children in foster care who are waiting far too long to find a permanent home. We need to continue to work together to ensure that States have the resources they need to swiftly move children into adoptive homes when it is appropriate to do so.

I look forward to continuing to work with all my colleagues to achieve that goal. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Res. 1648.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I think in closing it's important to point out that children are children, and while we may talk about some Haitian children who want to be adopted in the United States, we have an immigration policy in this country that is sending children back from my district to their country because we have got an immigration system that does not work. I actually think we ought to think a little bit more about people in this country and how we get the immigration policy rather than trying to say, well, we've got to worry about these people somewhere else. Part of this election was fought over the issue of immigration policy, and this country needs a fair way for people to proceed toward an ability to become a citizen.

Now, you want these Haitian kids to come in here. What about their citizenship? I mean, they just get here; they're going to sit here forever and never get citizenship? I have a boy in my district who was 6 years old when he came here, and no one told him he had to go down and fill out some papers when he got to be 18 and choose his citizenship. So now we're trying to send him back to a country that he never lived in since he was 6 when he came, and so there are real problems with children in this country, and I think we can deal with this one and we'll deal with the other one.

The other body has kept their foot on these issues over and over and over again, and I think we ought to deal with this issue and then we'll deal with the other issue. We'll see whether they're really serious about all children.

I urge my friends and the Members of the Congress to vote for this resolution.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1648, which recognizes the goals and ideals of National Adoption Day and Month. As

you know, November 20 will mark this year's annual National Adoption Day celebration. All across our great country, communities will gather together to celebrate the adoptions that have been finalized this year and those that we hope will be finalized next year. In this spirit of community and family, this is what makes the National Adoption Day so very effective and also so very important in the lives of the Nation's more than 423,000 foster children--more than half of whom are under the age of 10.

The issue truly is an urgent one, Mr. Speaker. Each year as children grow older, it becomes harder and harder to place them with ``forever'' families. In fact, sadly, last year, 29,000 children ``aged out'' of the foster care system and are now on their own. As someone who adopted an older child, I know what this means to so many families and so many children--in particular, to older children. I call adopting an older child the toughest job I've ever had but also the one that was the most rewarding.

In so many cases, adoption is the key to breaking the cycle of abuse for children who otherwise would languish in dangerous homes. Perhaps it goes without saying how important it is for children to grow up in loving and supporting families. Yet with thousands upon thousands of children still being denied this most fundamental opportunity, Congress must continue to do what it can to support their efforts to find a home.

As such, the Federal Government has rightly stepped in to relieve the financial burden on adoptive families, and in doing so has made adoption more affordable to people of all income levels, but much still remains to be done. The resolution that we are considering today is an important reaffirmation of our commitment to improving the lives of foster children everywhere, and I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support and attention to this matter.

While we are on the subject of adoption, Mr. Speaker, I want to mention one more thing. It has been brought to my attention that the Democratic leadership has pulled another very important adoption bill from the schedule this week. Actually, I understand that they hope to use it as a vehicle to pass an unrelated measure called the DREAM Act. The adoption bill in question is called the Help HAITI Act. It was introduced by Congressman Fortenberry in response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti some months ago. His legislation has passed the House and the Senate, and it was designated to assist children orphaned by one of the greatest natural disasters in recent memory.

A family in my district has adopted one of those children. He is a 3- year-old boy named Samuel. After being abandoned, with no record of who his parents were, Samuel got a second chance at having a family. Sadly, his adoption is stuck in limbo now because of this action. Congressman Fortenberry's bill would change that. It has passed the House, and it has passed the Senate. All little Samuel needs is one clean vote and a stroke of the President's pen.

To hold these children hostage in an effort to disguise a vote on a controversial piece of legislation that has no hope of becoming law is completely unacceptable. Frankly, Mr. Speaker, this is exactly the kind of skullduggery that the American people have grown so sick of. If the DREAM Act or any other piece of legislation cannot stand on its own merits, then the sponsors of the bill need to go back to the drawing board and find something that can stand on its own merits.

The Help HAITI Act is one vote away from being sent to the President's desk. I strongly urge the Senate Democrat leaders to allow the House to vote to pass the Haiti adoption bill. If they choose not to, I hope that the current Speaker will at least have the decency to look Samuel and his parents in the eyes and explain the nefarious decision to them.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

Mr. Speaker, I have no more Members who wish to speak on this, but I'd just like to close by saying I think that this House Resolution 1648 is a very good one. I urge my colleagues to support it but also to keep up the pressure on the current Speaker to release the Haiti adoption bill.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1648, the annual National Adoption Day and National Adoption month resolution. I would like to thank my colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee for their work to bring this resolution to the Floor, and I want to commend in particular, my friend Jim McDermott, the Chairman of the Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee, for his leadership on adoption, foster care and child welfare issues.

Adoption has been an essential part of my life and legislative service since 1968, when my late wife, Jo, unsuccessful in our hope for biological children, turned enthusiastically to adoption.

Like all prospective adoptive parents, we completed the paperwork and the home study process--which every adoptive parent can remember. We were overjoyed to welcome home our adorable 3-week old son Ted in 1968. Jo and I had no doubt that since we made the decision to accept as our own, one of God's children, that He blessed us with Noelle, Annie and Monica.

For these past 36 years, I have reveled in wearing my legislative hat, as a Member of Congress, as an advocate for effective public policy to eliminate the barriers to adoption and the need to work on behalf of children and families to promote this life-affirming experience.

Adoption has made enormous strides in these 36 years. In the late 1970s, I had the opportunity to bend the ear of President Carter with my radical proposal for an adoption deduction that would be equivalent to the cost of childbirth. In the 1980s, I joined with my former colleague, Tom Bliley, to create the Congressional Coalition on Adoption. In the 1990s, we enacted the $5,000 tax credit for adoption and in 2001, we were successful in doubling the adoption tax credit to $10,000. That same year, we created CCAI, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, to enhance our adoption advocacy.

As part of that advocacy, CCAI is one of the sponsoring organizations for National Adoption Day that celebrates the adoption finalization for thousands of families. National Adoption Day also raises awareness for the 114,000 children in foster care who are available for adoption and are seeking their ``forever family.'' I also want to commend the following sponsors for their leadership in promoting National Adoption Day: The Alliance for Children's Rights, Casey Family services, Children's Action Network, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, and the Freddie Mac Foundation. I also want to express my appreciation for the work of my Legislative Director, Chip Gardiner, who has been a great advocate for the cause of adoption for the past 25 years.

It is fitting and proper for the House of Representatives to approve this resolution in November which is National Adoption Month and National Adoption Day which will take place this year on Saturday, November 20. As families prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving next week, National Adoption Day is held the Saturday before Thanksgiving as we celebrate this very special day when the dream of family has been realized for so many Americans. This year, more than 350 events will take place across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. to finalize over 4,500 adoptions from foster care.

When I have the opportunity to share my personal experience of adoption, I am reminded of the words of the Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet, Gabriella Mistral. ``We are guilty of many errors and faults, but our worst crime is abandoning children, neglecting the fountain of life. Many things we need can wait; the child cannot. To the child, we cannot answer: `Tomorrow' The child's name is `Today!' ''

Today, let us reaffirm our support to assist the thousands of children in America in foster care who seek the love, support and stability of a family.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in support of H. Res. 1648, a resolution that recognizes the importance of federal efforts to encourage adoption, and honors National Adoption Day and Month.

As an avid adoption supporter, I believe that Congress must continue to promote the adoption of children into safe and loving homes. Through our work in 1997 as part of the Adoption and Safe Families Act, and more recently through the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, Congress made significant advances in providing more options for children in need.

Yet, far too many children, about 114,000, are waiting in foster care programs throughout our country for families to adopt them. These children should be given every opportunity to lead successful lives, and one way to make that happen is to increase the adoption of these children into safe, permanent, loving homes.

That is why National Adoption Day and Month are so important. This year, National Adoption Day will take place on November 20, 2010, and is designed for communities around the country to highlight adoptions. Over the last decade, these events have grown more and more successful. Last year there were events in all 50 states during which the adoptions of 4,800 children were finalized. Since its inception, more than 30,000 adoptions have been finalized on National Adoption Day.

I have been honored to participate in National Adoption Day over the past several years. To be part of such a special occasion reinforces the need for further efforts to move kids into adoptive homes.

I would also like to highlight the efforts of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) to promote adoption through its annual Angels in Adoption Awards Ceremony, held in October. This event also highlights those that have opened their hearts and their homes.

These initiatives are critically important to not only recognizing those who have promoted adoption, but also to highlight the need for greater action on this important topic.

Before I close, I would like to recognize the efforts of Representative Jim Oberstar, the sponsor of this resolution, for his work on behalf of adoption and children in foster care. Jim and I worked closely together on these important issues as co-chairs of Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. As an adoptive parent himself, he knows firsthand how life-changing adoption is, and with his experiences he has been an effective and tireless leader for children who need loving homes. His expertise will be missed, but his contributions in support of adoption will be lasting.

I would also like to congratulate and publicly thank Representative Ginny Brown-Waite for her role in promoting adoption and the wellbeing of all children. As a Member of the Ways and Means Committee, she has been an active supporter of efforts to promote adoption and child wellbeing, continuing her prior work as a member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. Ginny is retiring at the end of this Congress, and her deep compassion for and active efforts on behalf of children who have been or are awaiting adoption will continue to inspire those of us she leaves behind. I wish both Jim and Ginny all the best in the years ahead and thank both of them for their distinguished service to our families and country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1648, which recognizes the goals and ideals of National Adoption Day and National Adoption Month. I would also like to thank Chairman Oberstar for introducing this resolution and for his recognition of this important issue.

As a practicing OB/GYN physician for nearly 30 years before being elected to Congress, I have seen first hand the life-changing role of adoption services for families and children all across the Nation. Adoption and foster care are extraordinary means for child survivability. In fact, 45 percent of Americans believe that children are placed in foster care due to some form of juvenile delinquency, but the unfortunate reality is that these children are primarily victims of abuse or neglect. For so many of these youth, the care they receive in foster homes and adoption agencies provides them the only home they ever know. Sadly, year after year, we see thousands of children ``age out'' of foster care and enter adulthood.

Mr. Speaker, every child in this Nation and around the world deserves a loving family that will take care of them and provide for their basic needs. I applaud the many organizations across the United States that tirelessly strive to provide a home for foster care children and offer them a temporary place to live until they are placed in a permanent home. With local adoption agencies and foster homes doing their part, we must also do ours. I am proud that this body has voted to provide significant tax credits to families adopting children with special needs.

Today there are over 423,000 children in the United States foster care system, and 114,000 of these young individuals are waiting for a loving family to adopt them. The vast majority of these youth are victims of abandonment, abuse, or neglect, and they are in dire need of a family that will provide a home so that they can grow into successful adults.

Mr. Speaker, families that adopt should also be recognized for their commitment to improving the lives of children through the expansion and strengthening of their own families. These families come from all walks of life, but what ties them together is an abounding love for the neglected and the happiness that their new

families enjoy after adoption. Their noble actions in caring for our youth are a public service--but more importantly--an act of service and humility in love for humanity.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution recognizes and honors the foster care and adoption agencies around the Nation that provide our youth with a sense of hope and a future. I support and congratulate all of these agencies and families in their honorable endeavors, and charge them to continue their efforts into the future.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.