 |  | | | District Office
600 Martin Luther King Jr. Place Suite 216
Louisville, KY 40202
Phone: (502) 582-5129
Fax: (502) 582-5897
Washington Office
2459 Rayburn
House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5401
Fax: (202) 225-5776 | | |  |  |  | | | 
| | Promoting Adoption | | | |
 As in past years, I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 1057, the Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act, which expands and increases the adoption tax credit and assistance programs for adoptive families. The Hope for Children Act (H.R. 622), of which I was an original co-sponsor in the last Congress, permanently extended and doubled the adoption tax credit to $10,000. The provision was signed into law by President Bush in 2001.
With the harrowing onset of SARS facing Asian countries in 2003, many families found themselves confronting procedural delays in the final stages of their international adoptions. Taking into consideration the legitimate health concerns that prompted moratoriums on travel to these areas, I led the effort to extend the timeframe for travel and logistic deadlines for these U.S. families. As a result, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (formerly INS) agreed to allow these adoptive parents the valuable additional time needed to complete the process following the lifting of the travel ban to China.
Following my time as co-chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, I have continued participation in this and other international adoption organizations to promote the advantages of adoption for all concerned – the children, as well as the biological and adoptive parents. I look forward to working with my Congressional colleagues to address the barriers and opportunities for adoption so that families can enjoy the completeness, the joy, the love, and the experience that children bring to families.
As a mother of two adopted children (and four biological), I can tell you that adopting children has added a whole new dimension to my life. Each day, I think of my adopted children and the joy we have shared, and cannot imagine my family without them.
| | | Congressional Coalition on Adoption |
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