*EPF206 08/14/01
Text: Bill Sets Up Annual Report on Anti-Abduction Efforts
(Would require reports on individual extradition cases) (1430)

Foreign governments that harbor people who have abducted children from the United States or thwart the custody determinations of U.S. courts will find their records put before Congress on an annual basis if one lawmaker has his way.

Representative Nick Lampson (Democrat of Texas) introduced H.R. 2688 July 31 in the House of Representatives to strengthen U.S. efforts in getting foreign governments to cooperate in resolving cases involving American children taken overseas.

The proposed legislation, called the "Bring Our Children Home Act," is similar to a bill Lampson introduced in the 106th Congress and has 102 co-sponsors. The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee and the House International Relations Committee.

Lampson, a third-term lawmaker, is the founder and chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus. The caucus has nearly 150 members in the 435-member House of Representatives.

On his congressional website, Lampson describes how a child abduction and murder in his district shortly after his first election to Congress galvanized him to take up the issue of missing children.

Lampson's bill would give U.S. district courts jurisdiction over competing custody determinations by individual states and have the U.S. Attorney General maintain a national registry of custody orders.

H.R. 2688 would require the U.S. Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to submit to the Congress "an annual report that contains a description of the status of each case involving a request during the preceding year for extradition to the United States of an individual alleged to have violated section 1204 of title 18, United States Code."

The proposed legislation would also require the Secretary of State to prepare for the Congress an annual report on progress made by the United States in negotiating and entering into "bilateral treaties (or other international agreements) relating to international child abduction with countries that are not contracting parties to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction."

H.R. 2688 would also amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the State Department to report on a country's efforts "to prohibit international child abduction, including efforts to expedite the return of children to the country of their habitual residence; and the extent to which the country respects the rights of custody and of access under the laws of other countries."

Following is the text of H.R. 2688 from the Congressional Record:

(begin text)

Bring Our Children Home Act

Introduced in the House
HR 2688 IH
107th CONGRESS
1st Session

H. R. 2688

To amend title 28, United States Code, to give district courts of the United States jurisdiction over competing State custody determinations, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 31, 2001

Mr. LAMPSON (for himself, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. FROST, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. STARK, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRUCCI, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. OSE, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Ms. HART, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. GORDON, Mr. KING, Mr. BORSKI, Mr. HOLDEN, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. KIND, Mr. WYNN, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. POMEROY, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. MANZULLO, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. MASCARA, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. WEINER, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. RUSH, Mr. CARSON of Oklahoma, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. JOHN, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Ms. LEE, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. OLVER, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. BERRY, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. RAMSTAD, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Ms. SANCHEZ, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. SMITH of Michigan, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. COSTELLO, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. HOLT, Mr. BACA, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. MOORE, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. FORD, Mr. BARCIA, and Mr. BAIRD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on International Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To amend title 28, United States Code, to give district courts of the United States jurisdiction over competing State custody determinations, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Bring Our Children Home Act'.

SEC. 2. JURISDICTION OVER COMPETING STATE CUSTODY ORDERS.

Section 1738A of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(i) If a court of one State makes a child custody determination in accordance with subsection (c) and if that determination is in conflict with a determination made by another State in accordance with subsection (c), a contestant for whom such a determination was made may bring an action in the district court of the United States the district of which includes the resident of such contestant to determine, on the basis of the best interests of the child involved, which determination shall prevail.'.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL REGISTRY OF CUSTODY ORDERS.

The Attorney General shall establish a registry for all custody orders entered by State courts. In establishing the registry, the Attorney General shall inform the attorney general of each State of the registry and shall provide such assistance as may be necessary for the cooperation of the courts of each State in providing custody orders for the registry.

SEC. 4. DETENTION OF CHILDREN LISTED AS MISSING.

Law enforcement officers of any State or local government may hold, for not more than 24 hours, any child listed as missing by the National Crime Information Center for the proper disposition of the child in accordance with the latest valid custody determination applicable to the child.

SEC. 5. REPORTS RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION.

(a) REPORT ON PROGRESS IN NEGOTIATING BILATERAL TREATIES WITH NON-HAGUE CONVENTION COUNTRIES- The Secretary of State shall prepare and submit to the Congress an annual report on progress made by the United States in negotiating and entering into bilateral treaties (or other international agreements) relating to international child abduction with countries that are not contracting parties to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

(b) REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES- (1) Section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d) is amended--

(A) in paragraph (7), by striking `and' at the end and inserting a semicolon;

(B) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and inserting `; and'; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

`(9) the status of efforts in each country to prohibit international child abduction, including--

`(A) efforts to expedite the return of children to the country of their habitual residence; and

`(B) the extent to which the country respects the rights of custody and of access under the laws of other countries.'.

(2) Section 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(b)) is amended by inserting after the sixth sentence the following: `Each report under this section shall include information on the status of efforts in each country to prohibit international child abduction, including efforts to expedite the return of children to the country of their habitual residence and the extent to which the country respects the rights of custody and of access under the laws of other countries.'.

(c) REPORT ON ENFORCEMENT OF SECTION 1204 OF TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE- The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall prepare and submit to the Congress an annual report that contains a description of the status of each case involving a request during the preceding year for extradition to the United States of an individual alleged to have violated section 1204 of title 18, United States Code.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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