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Floor Speech
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Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, for over 25 years in the Senate, I have been an advocate for adoption.
Adoption is a way for families to be created out of tragedy. It is a pathway to the joy of raising children and guaranteeing security of a place that now they can call home.
One family, Cate and Ben Bryan from Iowa, made the choice to open their hearts and their home to a child from China and were matched with a little girl named Rosie.
Hundreds of families across the country, including the Bryans and others in Iowa, have chosen adoption from China. They have been matched with specific children and made arrangements to welcome those children into their homes.
Many of these kids being adopted from China have disabilities or other special needs and require specialized health and care services.
These kids are in desperate need of families to take care of them but are being denied the opportunity to come to their home in America with those parents all due to China's refusal to let Americans into the country to complete adoptions.
In February of 2020, China closed its border due to the spread of COVID. This meant that parents who had already been matched with a child in China could not proceed with their adoption. Of course, parents must physically be present in China to continue the adoption process and bring it to finality in order to get their child home.
What was said to be a temporary emergency precaution because of COVID has now stretched into years despite the availability of vaccines. Due to China's unwillingness to open its borders to these parents, adoptions have been stalled for now 2 years.
Some parents have been prohibited from even communicating with their children during this time. The Bryans from Iowa are unable to receive updated health information about their daughter and are unable to send letters or care packages. She might not even know that they have been trying for years to bring Rosie into their family.
Now, other countries that participate in international adoptions have found ways to continue the process, even in light of COVID. Even countries with travel restrictions on other groups have made exceptions for adoptive families. Parents want to cooperate. Parents are willing to quarantine. Parents are willing to be tested. Parents will take every precaution asked of them by China.
Now, what is so odd about all the parents who want to adopt not being allowed into China--we know that China has opened the country to athletes participating in the Olympics, those wishing to do business there, and to American journalists, but why not to adopting parents? Tourist visas are still not being issued, and adoptive parents are being classified as tourists despite specific reasons for their visit.
It is imperative that the Biden administration work to get adoptions from China moving again. These families have been waiting long enough. The kids whom they are working to adopt have been waiting even longer.
I get a chance to hear from kids in foster care in the United States through my role as chairman of the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth. I always hear the same message from these young people: They want a mom and dad. They want a loving place to call home. Kids in China are no different. They deserve a family and safety and the security of loving parents.
I pray that the hearts of Chinese leaders are softened enough to allow these families into the country and allow these kids to come home to America.
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