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Letter to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn - Senators Blunt, Klobuchar, Young Lead Bipartisan, Bicameral Letter to Ethiopian Prime Minister on Adoptions

Letter

By: Roy Blunt, Robert Aderholt, Terri Sewell, Bruce Westerman, Mike Thompson, Jared Polis, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Sanford Bishop, Jr., Barry Loudermilk, Jim Banks, Luke Messer, Jim McGovern, Bill Huizenga, Tim Walberg, Keith Ellison, Roger Wicker, Pete King, Bill Johnson, Peter DeFazio, Phil Roe, David Kustoff, Don Beyer, Jr., Luther Strange III, Dianne Feinstein, Bill Nelson, Sr., David Perdue, Joe Donnelly, Sr., Mitch McConnell, Jr., Chris Van Hollen, Jr., Al Franken, Steve Daines, John Hoeven, Bob Menendez, Rob Portman, Ron Wyden, Tim Scott, Mike Lee, Mike Rogers, Gary Palmer, Steve Womack, Doug LaMalfa, Ed Royce, Ed Perlmutter, Tom Rooney, Jody Hice, Jackie Walorski, Susan Brooks, James Comer, Jr., Anthony Brown, Fred Upton, Jason Lewis, Billy Long, Kevin Cramer, Sean Maloney, Greg Walden, Ryan Costello, Marsha Blackburn, Mia Love, Richard Shelby, Tom Cotton, Chris Coons, Johnny Isakson, Tammy Duckworth, Jerry Moran, Bill Cassidy, Amy Klobuchar, Thad Cochran, Thom Tillis, Jeanne Shaheen, Sherrod Brown, James Lankford, Lindsey Graham, Orrin Hatch, Maria Cantwell, Mo Brooks, French Hill, Trent Franks, Zoe Lofgren, Doug Lamborn, John Rutherford, Hank Johnson, Jr., Rick Allen, Todd Rokita, André Carson, Ed Markey, Justin Amash, Brenda Lawrence, Tom Emmer, David Rouzer, Dan Donovan, Jr., Suzanne Bonamici, Mike Kelly, Jr., Scott DesJarlais, Steve Cohen, Barbara Comstock, John Boozman, Michael Bennet, Marco Rubio, Chuck Grassley, Todd Young, Rand Paul, Gary Peters, Claire McCaskill, Richard Burr, Heidi Heitkamp, Kirsten Gillibrand, Jim Inhofe, Jeff Merkley, John Cornyn, Patty Murray
Date: Dec. 6, 2017
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Foreign Affairs Family

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn,

We write to express our gratitude for the actions your government has taken in response to our letter on May 26, 2017, regarding intercountry adoptions. Thanks to your government's cooperation, many children have been united with loving adoptive families. With gratitude for your previous efforts, we seek your continued assistance with the remaining cases in which American families have pending adoptions in various phases of completion. We feel strongly that any case involving an Ethiopian child matched with an adoptive family should be allowed to continue to completion under the Revised Family Code of 2000. With expeditious resolution of this issue, it is our hope that the bilateral relationship between our two countries can deepen further.

We continue to understand the Ethiopian government's decision regarding future adoption policy. However, according to the U.S. Department of State, there are more than 200 cases in which American families have pending adoptions in various phases of completion. We believe that Ethiopia's pursuit of new adoption legislation must not prevent children who have already been matched with adoptive families from having the opportunity to complete their adoptions according to the law under which they were initiated.

We share your government's concern for the security and welfare of children. Children often form important emotional bonds with the adoptive families with whom they have been "matched." We fear that failing to allow these prospective adoptive parents to complete their adoption processes will impose additional suffering on these children. This is why we remain resolute in our desire to work with you to resolve this situation.

Thank you for your continued attention to this important matter. Our two governments have demonstrated the ability to work cooperatively on a variety of issues. We hope that this issue continues to be among them. We trust that you will work closely with the Department of State to establish a way to unite these children with their adoptive families.


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