Alert

WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) today commented on Senate passage of bipartisan legislation to provide financial relief and support to families seeking to adopt children internationally. Blunt is a co-sponsor of the bipartisan Adoptive Family Relief Act, introduced by U.S. Senators Ron Johnson (Wis.) and Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), which will allow the State Department to waive costly visa renewal fees for families adopting children from abroad during special circumstances.

“Families seeking to adopt abroad should not have to navigate additional unnecessary financial burdens in order to bring their adopted children home. The Adoptive Family Relief Act provides much-needed financial relief and support to adopting families,” said Blunt. “Every child deserves a loving home, and I’m pleased this bipartisan legislation has passed the Senate to help families in Missouri and across our country provide homes for children in need through adoption.”

The Adoptive Family Relief Act will immediately assist families in Missouri who are in the process of adopting children from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC announced in September 2013 that it would no longer issue “exit permits” for these children seeking to be united with their adoptive families. The Adoptive Family Relief Act will give the State Department flexibility to waive immigrant visa renewal fees for adoptive families in these special circumstances where the cause of delay for using the issued visas is out of the parents’ control.

Blunt was recently named co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Coalition on Adoption, which works with the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute to engage Members of Congress on issues pertaining to domestic and international child welfare. Blunt has been a member of the CCAI Advisory Board since 2009, and he has been a vocal opponent of international bans on U.S. adoptions.  He successfully worked with his colleagues to pass bipartisan resolutions expressing concern regarding adoption suspensions in Russia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 112th and 113th Congresses. Blunt continues to serve as one of the most vocal champions in the U.S. Senate for adoption.