Urging the Government of Ukraine to Review and Modify its Decision to Suspend Adoption By Foreign Nationals with A View to Resuming Such Adoptions

Floor Speech

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Mr. MOYLAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 915) urging the Government of Ukraine to review and modify its decision to suspend adoption by foreign nationals with a view to resuming such adoptions, particularly in cases where the mutual concerns of the Governments of Ukraine and of the United States can be substantially addressed.

The Clerk read the title of the resolution.

The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 915

Whereas adoption, including the adoption of child nationals of one country by adult nationals from another country, can be a profoundly beneficial way to unite children in need of parents with families that are eager and able to open their hearts and homes to children, providing the benefit of a permanent family to children who are orphaned or whose biological parents are otherwise unable to care for them;

Whereas adoptions require government safeguards to insure that they promote the best interest of the child and in order to prevent the abduction, sale, exploitation, or trafficking of children;

Whereas the Government of Ukraine has not acceded to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, and the circumstances of Russia's unprovoked war against Ukraine render its accession currently difficult;

Whereas, since at least 1992, the Government of Ukraine has facilitated the adoption of Ukrainian children by United States citizens through its domestic law and process, and in the ensuing decades both Ukraine and the United States demonstrated that they shared the concern to protect and ensure the best interests of the child;

Whereas, as a direct result of the Russian Federation's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Government of Ukraine temporarily suspended any adoption proceedings and protocols for the placement or adoption of its children with foreign nationals, on March 13, 2022;

Whereas the Government of Ukraine had very significant reasons to suspend intercountry adoption in March 2022, including that it was faced with the urgent and temporary displacement of Ukrainian children, including those who had been previously placed in institutional settings and orphanages, and the impossibility or extraordinary difficulty of conducting official business to protect and ensure the best interests of the child while under the shock of invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory;

Whereas the Government of Ukraine has substantially restored its ability to conduct official business, including resuming the process of adoptions by Ukrainian nationals since May 31, 2022; and

Whereas the Government of Ukraine has not lifted its suspension of the processing of adoptions by foreign nationals, including United States citizens, nor has it identified a time-frame or protocol for doing so: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) urges the Government of Ukraine to review and modify its decision to suspend adoptions and preadoptive placements of Ukrainian children by United States citizens, and to actually and in good faith resume such adoptions in cases where the mutual concerns of the Government of the United States and of Ukraine to protect and ensure the best interests of the child can be substantially addressed;

(2) recommends as particularly urgent cases in which prospective adoptive United States parents have already complied with the requirements under Ukrainian domestic law for the adoption of Ukrainian children and that process has confirmed the legitimacy of the adoptability of these children, and cases in which the prospective adoptive United States parents have completed the process set forth under domestic Ukrainian law and have had their dossiers vetted and approved by the Ukrainian Government before the suspension of the adoptions by foreign nations on March 13, 2022;

(3) recommends that in those cases in which Ukrainian children had already participated in ``hosting'' programs facilitated by the Government of Ukraine and placed with individual families within the United States prior to the suspension of adoptions by foreign nationals, that regarding those children which have already been determined by the Ukrainian Government to be legally adoptable, the United States parents be permitted to initiate the process for adoption and be permitted to receive the preadoptive placement of such children during the Ukrainian domestic adoption process; and

(4) recommends that in those cases in which Ukrainian children had already participated in ``hosting'' programs facilitated by the Government of Ukraine and placed with individual families within the United States prior to the suspension of adoptions by foreign nationals, that regarding those children whose status regarding legal adoptability remains uncertain at this time, the United States parents be permitted to make application to receive such children in preadoptive placements until the Ukrainian Government either establishes their adoptability or locates or identifies their biological parents.

Mr. Speaker, on February 24, 2022, Russia launched a brutal, unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the almost 3 years since that dark day, Ukraine has suffered countless atrocities committed by Vladimir Putin's forces.

Russian forces are responsible for murdering more than 12,000 civilians with millions more displaced. However, Putin's war of aggression has impacted one demographic group the most, Ukraine's children.

Since the beginning of the war, over 500 children have been murdered by Russian forces and over 19,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly abducted into Russia. According to the National Social Service of Ukraine, over 1,800 Ukrainian children have been orphaned. These children belonged to loving, caring families that were ripped apart by Putin's war of aggression. They have been brutalized and traumatized by almost 1,000 days of the most horrific conflict that Europe has seen in decades.

These children deserve a loving home and a second chance at a happy life. Thankfully, there are many families in the United States who wish to welcome these children with open arms.

On March 13, 2022, the Government of Ukraine temporarily suspended adoption proceedings and protocols for the placement or adoption of its children with foreign nationals.

This decision was made in the best interests of the children as the Ukrainian Government struggled to conduct official business under the shock of the early days of the invasion. However, since then, the government has substantially restored its ability to conduct official business.

This resolution urges the Government of Ukraine to review and modify its decision to suspend adoptions and preadoptive placements of Ukrainian children by U.S. citizens.

Recently, the Ukrainian Government confirmed that they will process intercountry adoptions in limited circumstances and for persons who have already received an official referral from the National Social Service.

While this is a very positive step, more can be done to work with the Government of Ukraine to speed up adoptions.

These children deserve a second chance at life. American families stand ready with open arms to provide a healthy, safe, and stable environment for these children.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, when Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Matt and Deidre Gordon of New Jersey were in the final stage of adopting Bogdan and Galena, an orphaned brother and sister from Ukraine.

The Gordons had been vetted and approved as adoptive parents by both the United States and Ukrainian Governments. They had a strong bond and relationship, they had a deep love, and they have a deep love for those two children and had spent precious time with them at their home in New Jersey, including regular contact and two long home stays totaling 5 months.

In March of 2022, however, during the first weeks of the Russian invasion, the Gordons had an appointment in Kyiv to be officially matched with the kids. It was at that point, however, that the Ukrainian Government temporarily suspended intercountry adoptions.

Arguably, the Government of Ukraine had reasons to suspend some adoptions, because of the fog of war and the difficulty in doing the requisite due diligence to safely and effectively process new adoption requests, but the Gordon case wasn't new. Matt and Deidre and many other Americans, hundreds of Americans, were nearing the end of the process when it all grounded to a halt leaving, in this case, these two children, and hundreds of other children, stranded.

Because of their deep love for their children, the Gordons have continued to visit Bogdan and Galena, who are in an institutional setting in Poland.

Let me just say, I did contact and wrote letters to President Zelenskyy, and this one goes back to July, asking for a remedy and to resolve this. We didn't even get an answer.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record my letter to President Zelenskyy. Congress of the United States, House of Representatives, July 28, 2023. His Excellency Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, Via: Oksana Markarova, Ambassador, Washington, DC.

Your Excellency: I write to urge you to review and modify your government's decision to suspend intercountry adoptions from Ukraine, particularly in cases in which the adoptive Ukrainian children have already participated in American homestays approved and facilitated by Ukrainian officials before the suspension of the adoption process on March 13, 2022.

Throughout my tenure in the U.S. Congress, I have focused much of my work on promoting human rights, freedom and democracy around the world, including supporting democratic reform in Ukraine since 1991. Similarly, I have led numerous efforts to secure the rights and dignity of children across the world who, due to their age and vulnerabilities, are often tragically neglected and abused.

As the author of landmark legislation on issues pertaining to children--including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act and the International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation, as well as proposals that increased federal tax incentives to help overcome the upfront costs of adoption--I am acutely aware of the complexity of issues facing children internationally and the need for government oversight of intercountry adoption to fully ensure the ``best interest of the child'' throughout the process.

Notwithstanding your government's reasons for initially suspending intercountry adoptions in 2022, I now urge that Ukraine's Ministry of Social Policy (MSP) revise that decision with a view to resuming intercountry adoptions in cases where our mutual concerns to protect and benefit children can be substantially addressed.

Principal examples of this include cases in which, first, the American adoptive parents have already had their dossiers vetted and approved by the Ukrainian government, and, second, the Ukrainian children have been determined to be adoptable by the Ukrainian government, and, third, the Ukrainian children have already participated in homestays with the American families--such cases are few and were at or very near the end stage of the process on February 24, 2022. In such situations, Ukrainian children have come to know and feel themselves as part of American families. I urge your government to seek solutions in these cases that recognize the deep bonds that have grown between the children and parents and, consistent with Ukrainian law and regulations, permit adoptions to be finalized.

One family that finds itself in this situation is that of Matt and Deidre Gordon of New Jersey, and a boy and a girl-- natural siblings--of Ukraine. After the Ukrainian government approved the Gordons' adoption dossiers in December 2021, their previously scheduled final appointment with MSP officials was cancelled in the wake of the invasion. The children, whom the Gordon parents have already come to know, now endure the agony of war while awaiting the day when they can reunite. Any immediate assistance you could provide in this urgent matter will be greatly appreciated. Having worked with the family, please know I stand ready to provide additional information or assist in any way you deem appropriate.

Intercountry adoption is a profoundly beneficial way to help children in need of parents and families that are eager and able to open their hearts and homes to benefit children. I sincerely thank you for your strength and courage in defending your country in the face of Russia's brutal onslaught and urge you to help unite American families and Ukrainian children in new family environments that will enhance the love and lives of both parents and children. Sincerely, Christopher H. Smith, Member of Congress.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, there are hundreds of other children and U.S. families in the same or similar situations, as I have indicated.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 915, which respectfully urges the Government of Ukraine to review and modify its decision to suspend adoption by foreign nationals for adoptive parents like the Gordons and their children.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution makes specific recommendations, which I will put in the Record, including cases in which adoptive U.S. parents have already completed, as I mentioned, the requirements under the Ukrainian domestic law for the adoption of Ukrainian children and in which the adoptability of these children has already been confirmed and also which the adoptive U.S. parents have already had their dossiers vetted and approved by the Ukrainian Government.

We ask them to please not delay any longer. Those kids want a loving home, and there is one awaiting them as we speak.

Second, there are also cases in which Ukrainian children have already participated in hosting programs facilitated by the Government of Ukraine and placed with individuals within the U.S. before suspension of adoption by foreign nationals.

Mr. Speaker, those kids have suffered much, certainly being in that kind of isolation. Orphanages are there, but it is so much better to be in a loving home. We have got a remedy sitting right at our fingertips. I am calling on the Ukrainian Government and President Zelenskyy, especially, to do so.

Let me also say, the Ukrainian Government resumed domestic adoptions and did that in June of 2022. There is an apparatus, there is a capability and a capacity to do this job.

I thank Matt and Deidre Gordon from New Jersey for bringing the needs of these Ukrainian children to my attention.

For his extraordinary leadership and compassion, I thank former State Senator Ray Lesniak for first suggesting that the House pass this resolution.

Special thanks to my good friend and colleague Donald Norcross, who helped us craft this resolution and has been there every step of the way as the lead Democrat cosponsor. I thank Donald so much for his leadership on this important issue.

I also thank Mark Milosch, the Republican staff director of the Lantos Commission. Previous to that, when I chaired the Helsinki Commission, he was my chief of staff there, as well. He is very, very capable and really understands the European theater and the politics, and he helped us draft this, as well. I also thank Trent Bunker.

This resolution deserves the full support of this body, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Mr. Smith and Mr. Norcross, for introducing this important resolution.

International adoption is a profound way to unite vulnerable children with families who are eager to open their hearts and homes. There are numerous families across the United States who want to be the light for Ukrainian children who have been surrounded by the darkness of Putin's war. We can offer hope to children who have been robbed of it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 915, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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