Vietnam Veterans Donor Acknowledgment Act of 2013

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 588) concerning the suspension of exit permit issuance by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for adopted Congolese children seeking to depart the country with their adoptive parents, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I speak in strong support of the Peterson resolution, H. Res. 588, concerning the suspension of exit permit issuance by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for adopted Congolese children seeking to depart the country with their adoptive parents.

Last year, the Democratic Republic of the Congo suspended the issuance of exit permits for Congolese children who were adopted by foreign parents, impacting hundreds of U.S. families.

The suspension means that Congolese children adopted by American parents cannot leave the country to go to their new homes, even though the parents have been officially declared the legal guardians under Congolese law. What is more, despite the exit permit suspension, Congolese courts have continued processing new adoptions, leading to a further backlog of adopted children who are unable to leave the country.

It is estimated that over 900 American families are caught up in varying degrees and stages of this adoption limbo--breaking many, many hearts. This is a deplorable situation for these children and for their distraught families. The DRC has not offered a clear

explanation for the suspension. The government has provided no evidence of widespread abuse in the adoption process.

The Peterson resolution underscores the importance of an ethical and transparent adoption process, and there are currently robust procedures in place for ensuring that these children are, indeed, orphaned and going to safe homes.

Ultimately, the DRC is entitled to amend its adoption process in going forward, but once the parents' legal guardianships are approved and established by the Congolese courts, the government should allow these children to depart the DRC with their adoptive moms and dads. All children deserve loving homes with moms and dads.

I want to thank the gentleman from Minnesota, Collin Peterson, for authoring this important measure, which has strong bipartisan support. Mr. Peterson has always been a consistent voice in support of human dignity and of the least and littlest among us, consistently defending the human person from the womb to the tomb.

At the full committee markup, several adoptive parents who were denied the requisite permission to bring their sons or daughters home were in attendance.

They, Collin, when we went down and spoke to them, told many of us how incredibly grateful they are to you for your leadership and your compassion and for your authorship, especially, of this important resolution.

I also want to thank my colleagues on the committee--Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, and subcommittee Ranking Member Karen Bass--for their leadership in marking up this resolution at both the subcommittee and committee levels and for helping to get it to the floor. I also thank Eric Cantor and the Speaker for ensuring that it was up for consideration today.

Again, more than 900 American families from across the U.S. and their Representatives in Congress are watching this very closely. Indeed, in April, 170 Members of Congress wrote and asked the DRC Government to lift the exit permit suspension.

When Secretary Kerry visited the Congo in May, he personally raised the issue with President Kabila. I also call on President Obama to raise this issue personally when he and President Kabila meet at the gathering of African heads of state here in Washington during the first week of August.

Finally, I want to say a word to those parents who have endured not only the burdens that are financial, but that are primarily emotional in being separated from the children they have graciously welcomed into their lives.

Your hardship and pain is deeply understood by my colleagues and me, as well as by our staff members, many of whom have worked not only on this resolution, but who have also pushed our State Department and the Government of the DRC to resolve this important issue. Please continue to persevere. Don't give up hope. You will get to love and to have those wonderful children in your homes.

I also want to let the parents know that our Africa Subcommittee plans to hold another hearing to address the growing crisis of orphans in Africa to which adoption is one of the very important durable remedies, and we specifically intend to address the situation that you are confronting with your children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

I would hope that Congressman Peterson would lead off that testimony, again, in having been the man, the person in Congress, walking point on this very important issue.

Our approval today of House Resolution 588, with support across party lines, will send a strong signal to Kinshasa that we need to unite these affected families. They shouldn't be separated from these kids. They have done everything by the book, and they ought to be with their loving parents.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.

I have several speakers who want to be here, but they are not physically present on the floor.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 588, which expresses the strong opposition of the House to the current practice of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) of suspending the issuance of exit visas for Congolese children adopted by loving American families.

On September 27, 2013, the Congolese Government inexplicably and inexcusably suspended the issuance of exit permits to children who were seeking to depart and begin new and more hopeful lives in the country of their adoptive parents.

All children deserve a safe, loving, and permanent family.

It is unjust, cruel, and inhumane to punish innocent children for actions they did not commit and had no control over.

UNICEF estimates that there are over four million orphans living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 800,000 of which are double orphans, meaning that they have lost both of their parents. In many cases entire families have been decimated by violence.

Thus, if these innocent children are to have any chance for a normal life, there is a major need for international adoptions.

The recent action by the DRC Government jeopardizes both the adoption process and the long term safety of these children.

Mr. Speaker, there are few nations with more persons willing and eager to open their homes and their hearts to the orphaned children of the DRC.

There are, right at this moment, scores of American citizens currently in the DRC who are being forced to remain in the country for months while they wait for the government to approve exit permits for their adopted children. These delays serve no useful purpose and unnecessarily impede the children's adjustment to their new life and brighter future in America, including enrolling in school, adapting to the culture, and learning the language.

Mr. Speaker, the actions of the Government of the DRC are particularly disturbing given the fact that the United States is one of the DRC's largest and most generous supporters, as evidenced by the estimated $274 million in bilateral aid $165 million in emergency humanitarian assistance it provided in fiscal year 2014.

I agree that it ought to be the policy of the United States to help the Democratic Republic of Congo ``focus on helping the country become a nation that provides for the basic needs of its citizens.''

That is why the government of the DRC must discontinue its current practice of needlessly delaying or suspending the issuance of exit visas to children so they can be united with their adoptive families who will love and cherish them and provide for their basic needs.

H. Res. 588 calls upon the U.S. Government to recognize a child's rights and ask the Congolese government to:

1. Resume processing and issuing exit permits;

2. Prioritize the processing of inter-country adoptions that occurred before the suspension; and

3. Expedite the processing of children who are deemed medically fragile.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to share the pain and anxiety of one Texas family resulting from the DRC Government's arbitrary suspension of exit visas for adopted children.

The mother of this family wrote my office yesterday. This is what she said:

I am writing today to inform you of the tragic situation my

family is in with our legally adopted children not being

allowed to come home from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Our sweet children, Josias (18 months) and Mercy (20

months), were adopted over a year ago and have had U.S. visas

since December 2013.

Sadly, they are still waiting for us to come get them and

bring them home because the Congolese government is not

allowing any adopted children to leave the country to be

united with their families.

In September 2013, the DRC government issued a suspension

on the issuance of exit letters for all internationally

adopted children, initially claiming the suspension would

last ``up to a year.''

They have now indicated the suspension will likely go on

much longer and that we may not ever be granted an exit

letter for our children.

This has been a heartbreaking situation for our family as

each day that our children are stuck in the DRC their lives

are in danger.

Several children have died of malaria during the suspension

and many more have become very ill due to unsanitary living

conditions and limited access to medical care and their lives

are now in jeopardy.

Adoption is an important tool for protecting children and if the only barrier preventing these children from going home is signature on an exit visa, then the United States should stand with the children and insist that the government of the DRC act in the best interests of the children.

I urge all members to join me in supporting H. Res. 588 so that we can end the suffering and heartbreak currently experienced by so many American families and their adopted children from the DRC. It is the right thing to do.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I want to thank Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Royce, the subcommittee Chair Chris Smith, and Ranking Members Engel and Bass for their support of this legislation.

I first heard about this problem when a constituent from my district, Kristin Zeidler of Montevideo, called my office to explain her family's situation.

Kristin and her husband, Gregg, adopted a 4-year-old girl from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their adoption has been recognized by both the United States Government and the Congolese Government since December of 2012, but they are not being allowed to bring this little girl home.

That is because, in September 2013, adoptions from the DRC were effectively suspended as the Congolese immigration authorities stopped issuing exit permits to adopted children. The Zeidler family has been fighting for the last year and a half to bring their little girl home.

This is just one example of more than 800 Congolese children and their adoptive American families who are caught up in the ongoing adoption crisis in the DRC.

Just to put this into context, this is over 10 percent of the total number of children who were adopted internationally by American families last year worldwide. The majority of the impacted cases are in their final stages and are merely awaiting the last step to bring home their legally adopted children.

This legislation takes a pragmatic approach, seeking to keep both sides at the table and to lead us towards a positive resolution. The resolution recognizes the Congolese Government's concerns about the ethical and transparent adoption process, and it respectfully requests that the issuance of exit permits and the adoption process resume.

Most importantly, H.R. 588 encourages a continued dialogue between our two countries on this issue. I hope that our mutual interests in the welfare of these children can lead us to a solution.

Turmoil in the region makes official estimates difficult, but we know there are millions of orphans living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With hundreds of American families like the Zeidlers being impacted by the suspension, we have a responsibility to act. A child's right to a family is a basic human right that is worthy of protection.

I am leading a letter with Representatives Eddie Bernice Johnson, Michele Bachmann, and Trent Franks to President Obama, asking him to address this issue when he meets with President Kabila at the United States-Africa Leaders Summit here in Washington, D.C., next month. I urge my colleagues who support this resolution today to also consider signing the letter.

Once again, I am very grateful to committee Chairman Royce and to subcommittee Chairman Smith for their attention to this important issue, and I am also grateful for the support of the Adoption Caucus cochairs--Congresswoman Bachmann and Congressmember Bass--and of Ranking Member Engel.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 588) to provide for donor contribution acknowledgments to be displayed at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, last year, Jan Scruggs, president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, came to my office and told me about an absurd fund-raising problem he had. He told me that in order to build a much- needed education center at the Vietnam Wall, he had to raise nearly $100 million of private money. Normally, this would not be a big problem; however, in this case,

VVMF had to raise all of this $100 million without the ability to recognize their donors because current law did not allow donor recognition.

Mr. Speaker, I think we can agree that it is ridiculous to force any organization to fund-raise without the ability to recognize donors. How are we supposed to raise any money? Even the National Park Service understands the importance of donor recognition. I personally have seen hundreds of benches in national parks all across this country that have little metal plaques on them thanking people for their generous donations.

In spite of current law and this donor recognition handicap, VVMF has raised over 25 percent of the nearly $100 million needed to build this education center. My bill, H.R. 588, will give them the extra pulling power they need to quickly complete their fund-raising and finally cross the $100 million finish line.

Overall, my bill is very straightforward. It merely provides VVMF the ability to recognize their donors. This recognition will lead to larger donations, a faster fund-raising pace, and quick and timely construction of the education center. It will also make the act of giving more personal and more rewarding. Put simply, every donor deserves a ``thank you,'' and my bill will finally allow VVMF to give the ``thank you'' their donors so rightly deserve.

Also, in order to ensure that appropriate standards for donor recognition were met, I made sure that H.R. 588 dovetailed exactly with existing Parks Service guidelines. This regulatory overlap ensures that any donor recognition will be discreet, unobtrusive, and will not contain any advertising or company logos.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 588 is supported by numerous veterans' organizations, including the VFW, the American Gold Star Mothers, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart, among many others. I urge my colleagues to support the quick passage this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah and the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands for their management of this important legislation. I certainly want to pay a special tribute to my good friend, the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), for his authorship of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this resolution to amend the Senate amendment to H.R. 588, the Vietnam Veterans Donor Acknowledgement Act of 2013.

I want to thank my good friend again, Congressman Don Young from Alaska, for his leadership on this very important issue. He has always been a strong supporter of our military servicemembers and veterans and has been instrumental in moving forward to building the Education Center at the Wall that will educate the millions of visitors to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial about its history and purpose.

Mr. Speaker, last month the House, with overwhelming support, passed H.R. 588, the Vietnam Veterans Donor Acknowledgement Act of 2013. As we all know, H.R. 588 is supported by all the major veterans' organizations throughout the country. Unfortunately, during its consideration, the Senate significantly amended the bill, which has drastically altered the original intent of the bill. Much of the additions to H.R. 588 have not been evaluated or considered by way of markup, by either the Senate or the House, which is critical in considering any legislation. For this reason, my colleague today offers this resolution to reinstate the original bipartisan language.

Mr. Speaker, as a Vietnam veteran myself, I strongly believe that my fellow soldiers and I have waited long enough for the construction of this important educational center. It will benefit the many tourists that visit our Nation's capital and educate and inform many of those who question why the thousands of names are engraved on such an extraordinary memorial.

Mr. Speaker, it is so beautiful to see that our veterans coming from the Gulf War are being praised by the American public, which is great. Unfortunately, those of us who were part of the Vietnam legacy of the war that occurred at that time did not have a very sweet welcoming home I can say, Mr. Speaker, being called ``baby killers'' and ``warmongers'' and all of this. To this day I'm still very bitter in terms of the treatment of our soldiers and veterans who come from that terrible war that our country was involved in.

This education center is so critical to educate the American people-- to educate America for that matter--so that they will understand and better appreciate the sacrifices and the contributions that our veterans and those who wore the armed services uniform made in protection of this country.

Again, I thank my dear friend, Mr. Young from Alaska, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.