International Adoption Simplification Act

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate passed the International Adoption Simplification Act. This bi-partisan bill allows parents to adopt siblings even if one of the children is between 16 and 18 years of age. Normally children aged 16 and above are ineligible for international adoption into the U.S. The act also includes a provision that allows U.S. parents to safely immunize their children within 30 days after arrival in the U.S. instead of having to subject them to potentially unsafe immunizations in foreign nations. The legislation was sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar and now moves to the House of Representatives. For more information, click here: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s1376/show

Senator Klobuchar has also introduced the Adoption Fairness Act which would prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from charging a fee for the issuance of a Certificate of Citizenship for a child who is adopted by a U.S. citizen parent and who is eligible for automatic citizenship, regardless of where the adoption was finalized. Click here for more info: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s3091/show

Kudos to Senator Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota as well as to her co-sponsors for supporting international adoption. Minnesota has the nation's highest per capita rate of international adoption, so Senator Klobuchar is serving her constituency along with all International (P)APs well.