119-sres150

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 150 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
S. RES. 150

Supporting the goals and ideals of ``Countering International Parental 
 Child Abduction Month'' and expressing the sense of the Senate that 
 Congress should raise awareness of the harm caused by international 
 parental child abduction.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 April 1 (legislative day, March 31), 2025

 Mr. Tillis (for himself and Mr. Murphy) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

Supporting the goals and ideals of ``Countering International Parental 
 Child Abduction Month'' and expressing the sense of the Senate that 
 Congress should raise awareness of the harm caused by international 
 parental child abduction.

Whereas thousands of children have been abducted from the United States by 
 parents, separating those children from their parents who remain in the 
 United States;
Whereas it is illegal under 

section 1204 of title 18, United States Code, to 
 remove, or attempt to remove, a child from the United States or to 
 retain a child (who has been in the United States) outside of the United 
 States with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental 
 rights;
Whereas 9,816 children were reported abducted from the United States between 
 2010 and 2020;
Whereas, during 2023, 1 or more cases of international parental child abduction 
 involving children who are citizens of the United States were identified 
 in 105 countries around the world;
Whereas the United States is a party to the Convention on the Civil Aspects of 
 International Child Abduction, done at The Hague, October 25, 1980 (TIAS 
 11670) (referred to in this preamble as the ``Hague Convention on 
 Abduction''), which--

    (1) supports the prompt return of wrongly removed or retained children; 
and

    (2) calls for all participating parties to respect parental custody 
rights;

Whereas the majority of children who were abducted from the United States have 
 yet to be reunited with their custodial parents;
Whereas, in 2023, Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Egypt, Honduras, 
 India, Jordan, the Republic of Korea, Montenegro, Peru, Poland, Romania, 
 the Russian Federation, and the United Arab Emirates were identified 
 pursuant to the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction 
 Prevention and Return Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.) as engaging 
 in a pattern of noncompliance (as defined in 

section 3 of that Act (22 
 U.S.C. 9101));
Whereas, between 2015 and 2023, a total of 19 countries were previously 
 identified as engaging in a pattern of noncompliance (as so defined), 
 including Austria, the Bahamas, the People's Republic of China, 
 Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Japan, Lebanon, 
 Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, 
 Trinidad and Tobago, and Tunisia, showing the importance of continued 
 enforcement of United States law by the executive branch to ensure the 
 return of abducted children;
Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States has recognized that family 
 abduction--

    (1) is a form of child abuse with potentially ``devastating 
consequences for a child'', which may include negative impacts on the 
physical and mental well-being of the child; and

    (2) may cause a child to ``experience a loss of community and 
stability, leading to loneliness, anger, and fear of abandonment'';

Whereas, according to the 2010 Report on Compliance with the Hague Convention on 
 the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction by the Department of 
 State, an abducted child is at risk of significant short- and long-term 
 problems, including ``anxiety, eating problems, nightmares, mood swings, 
 sleep disturbances, and aggressive behavior'';
Whereas international parental child abduction has devastating emotional 
 consequences for the child and for the parent from whom the child is 
 separated;
Whereas the United States has a history of promoting child welfare through 
 institutions, including--

    (1) the Children's Bureau of the Administration for Children and 
Families of the Department of Health and Human Services; and

    (2) the Office of Children's Issues of the Bureau of Consular Affairs 
of the Department of State;

Whereas the Coalition to End International Parental Child Abduction, through 
 dedicated advocacy and regular testimony, has highlighted the importance 
 of this issue to Congress and called on successive administrations to 
 take concerted action to stop international parental child abduction and 
 repatriate kidnapped United States children;
Whereas Bring Abducted Children Home, Bring Our Kids Home, iStand Parent 
 Network, and the Coalition to End International Parental Child Abduction 
 have been recognized by the Department of Justice as nonprofit 
 organizations specializing in international parental child abduction;
Whereas Congress has signaled a commitment to ending international parental 
 child abduction by enacting--

    (1) the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (22 U.S.C. 9001 et 
seq.);

    (2) the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993 (Public Law 
103-173; 107 Stat. 1998), which enacted 

section 1204 of title 18, United 
States Code; and

    (3) the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention 
and Return Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.);

Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 543 (112th Congress), agreed to 
 December 4, 2012, condemning the international abduction of children;
Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 431 (115th Congress), agreed to 
 April 19, 2018, to raise awareness of, and opposition to, international 
 parental child abduction;
Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 23 (116th Congress), agreed to 
 April 11, 2019, to raise awareness of the harm caused by international 
 parental child abduction;
Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 568 (117th Congress), agreed to 
 July 21, 2022, to raise awareness of the harm caused by international 
 parental child abduction;
Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 115 (118th Congress), agreed to 
 May, 10 2023, to raise awareness of the harm caused by international 
 parental child abduction;
Whereas Congress calls on the Department of State to fully use the tools 
 available under the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction 
 Prevention and Return Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.) to negotiate, 
 and make publicly available, bilateral agreements or memorandums of 
 understanding--

    (1) with countries not parties to the Hague Convention on Abduction to 
resolve abduction and access cases; and

    (2) regarding open abduction and access cases predating the Hague 
Convention on Abduction with countries that have thereafter become parties 
to the Hague Convention on Abduction;

Whereas all 50 States and the District of Columbia have enacted laws 
 criminalizing parental kidnapping;
Whereas, in 2023, the Prevention Branch of the Office of Children's Issues of 
 the Department of State--

    (1) fielded more than 4,600 inquiries from the general public relating 
to preventing a child from being removed from the United States; and

    (2) enrolled more than 3,700 children in the Children's Passport 
Issuance Alert Program, which--

 G
        (A) is 1 of the most important tools of the Department of State 
for preventing international parental child abduction;

 G
        (B) allows the Office of Children's Issues to contact the 
enrolling parent or legal guardian to verify whether the parental consent 
requirement has been met when a passport application has been submitted for 
an enrolled child; and

 G
            (C) has enrolled a total of over 66,600 children in the program 
since its inception;

Whereas the Department of State cannot track the ultimate destination of a child 
 through the use of the passport issued by the Department of State if the 
 child is transported to a third country after departing from the United 
 States;
Whereas a child who is a citizen of the United States may have another 
 nationality and may travel using a passport issued by another country, 
 which--

    (1) increases the difficulty of determining the whereabouts of the 
child; and

    (2) makes efforts to prevent abduction more critical;

Whereas, during 2023, 205 children were returned to the United States, and an 
 additional 119 abduction cases, involving 147 children, were resolved 
 without the children being returned to the United States; and
Whereas, in 2023, the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the 
 Prevention Branch of the Office of Children's Issues of the Department 
 of State, enrolled 341 children in the Prevent Abduction Program, which 
 is aimed at preventing international parental child abduction through 
 coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers at the 
 airport, seaport, or land border ports of entry by intercepting the 
 child before departure: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the Senate--

    (1) recognizes and observes ``Countering International 
 Parental Child Abduction Month'' during the period beginning on 
 April 1, 2025, and ending on April 30, 2025, to raise awareness 
 of, and opposition to, international parental child abduction; 
 and

    (2) urges the United States to continue playing a 
 leadership role in raising awareness about the devastating 
 impacts of international parental child abduction by educating 
 the public about the negative emotional, psychological, and 
 physical consequences to children and parents victimized by 
 international parental child abduction.
 <all>