US Congress House Bill 4143 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: Introduced on March 4 2014 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2014-04-16 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
Pending: House Subcommittee on Immigration And Border Security Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Children in Families First Act of 2014 - Establishes within the Department of State the Bureau of Vulnerable Children and Family Security which shall: (1) support the implementation in foreign countries of child welfare laws and policies; and (2) establish within the Bureau a Senior Coordinator for Permanence who shall lead the implementation of policies to ensure permanent family care for children living without families, including refugee and stateless children. States that the Bureau shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary and have lead responsibility for representing the U.S. government in diplomatic contacts pertaining to intercountry adoptions. Amends the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to carry out the functions prescribed by the Convention regarding the accreditation of U.S. adoption services providers. Establishes data bases for: (1) internationally adopted children, and (2) adoption service providers. Transfers from the Secretary of State to the Field Operations Directorate of USCIS specified adoption-related functions, including accreditation of agencies and approval of persons to provide adoption services and oversight of provider investigations. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through USCIS, to: (1) be responsible for processing and case-specific decision making on all intercountry adoption cases, (2) ensure that all intercountry adoption suitability and eligibility determinations of prospective adoptive parents are made in accordance with criteria that comply with the Hague Adoption Convention, (3) ensure that all non-Convention adoption cases undergo specified preprocessing, and (4) be responsible for all case processing steps in Convention and non-Convention adoption petitions on behalf of children whom U.S. parents propose to immigrate to the United States. Establishes within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) a Center of Excellence on Children in Adversity. Authorizes the President to provide assistance for programs in developing countries for nutrition, education, care, and protection of children. Requires USAID to carry out a priority country demonstration program implementing the (December 2012) Action Plan for Children in Adversity over a period of five years in at least six countries. Prohibits: (1) the authorization of appropriations to carry out this Act, and (2) funds from being awarded to the United Nations (U.N.) or any of its subsidiaries.

Children in Families First Act of 2014

Rep. Kay Granger [R-TX]	Rep. Michele Bachmann [R-MN]	Rep. Karen Bass [D-CA]	Rep. Timothy Bishop [D-NY]
Rep. Diane Black [R-TN]	Rep. Suzanne Bonamici [D-OR]	Rep. Bruce Braley [D-IA]	Rep. Susan Brooks [R-IN]
Rep. Cheri Bustos [D-IL]	Sen. Shelley Capito [R-WV]	Rep. Andre Carson [D-IN]	Rep. Katherine Clark [D-MA]
Rep. Steve Cohen [D-TN]	Rep. Michael Conaway [R-TX]	Rep. Gerald Connolly [D-VA]	Rep. Jim Cooper [D-TN]
Sen. Tom Cotton [R-AR]	Rep. Ron DeSantis [R-FL]	Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart [R-FL]	Rep. Lloyd Doggett [D-TX]
Rep. John Duncan [R-TN]	Rep. Renee Ellmers [R-NC]	Rep. Randy Forbes [R-VA]	Rep. Trent Franks [R-AZ]
Rep. Alan Grayson [D-FL]	Rep. Gregg Harper [R-MS]	Rep. Michael Honda [D-CA]	Rep. Bill Huizenga [R-MI]
Rep. Steve Israel [D-NY]	Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee [D-TX]	Rep. Eddie Johnson [D-TX]	Rep. William Keating [D-MA]
Rep. Joseph Kennedy [D-MA]	Rep. Peter King [R-NY]	Rep. Ann Kuster [D-NH]	Rep. James Langevin [D-RI]
Rep. John Larson [D-CT]	Rep. John Lewis [D-GA]	Rep. Michael McCaul [R-TX]	Rep. Jim McDermott [D-WA]
Rep. James McGovern [D-MA]	Rep. Gregory Meeks [D-NY]	Rep. Candice Miller [R-MI]	Rep. Patrick Murphy [D-FL]
Rep. Randy Neugebauer [R-TX]	Rep. Alan Nunnelee [R-MS]	Rep. Beto O'Rourke [D-TX]	Rep. Pete Olson [R-TX]
Rep. Steven Palazzo [R-MS]	Rep. Collin Peterson [D-MN]	Rep. Robert Pittenger [R-NC]	Rep. Bill Posey [R-FL]
Rep. Reid Ribble [R-WI]	Rep. Cedric Richmond [D-LA]	Rep. Todd Rokita [R-IN]	Rep. Bobby Rush [D-IL]
Rep. Adam Schiff [D-CA]	Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D-PA]	Rep. James Sensenbrenner [R-WI]	Rep. Albio Sires [D-NJ]
Rep. Steve Stivers [R-OH]	Rep. Steve Stockman [R-TX]	Rep. Mark Takano [D-CA]	Rep. Tim Walberg [R-MI]
Rep. Henry Waxman [D-CA]	Rep. Roger Williams [R-TX]	Rep. Frank Wolf [R-VA]

Date	Chamber	Action
2014-04-16	House	Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
2014-03-04	House	Referred to House Judiciary
2014-03-04	House	Referred to House Foreign Affairs
2014-03-04	House	Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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.

HB3323 (Related) 2014-01-09 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
SB1530 (Related) 2013-09-19 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
SB2475 (Related) 2014-06-17 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4143/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/113/bills/hr4143/BILLS-113hr4143ih.pdf