[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6220 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6220
To amend title 18, United States Code, to criminalize unlawful adoption
practices.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 3, 2023
Ms. Kuster (for herself, Mr. Lamborn, and Mr. Aderholt) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to criminalize unlawful adoption
practices.
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 ``Adoption Deserves Oversight,
Protection, and Transparency Act of 2023'' or the ``ADOPT Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Protect individuals and families impacted by private
domestic adoption from exploitation by unlicensed adoption
intermediaries.
(2) Ensure that individuals seeking assistance with
domestic adoption have ready access to licensed and regulated
adoption providers in their communities.
(3) Prevent the commodification of children.
SEC. 3. ADOPTION OFFENSE.
(a) In General.--Chapter 11A of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 228A. Unlawful adoption practices
``(a) Adoption Intermediary Services.--
``(1) Offense.--Whoever, in any circumstance described in
subsection (d), knowingly provides or offers to provide
adoption intermediary services shall be punished as provided in
accordance with subsection (e).
``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
``(A) a public child-placing agency;
``(B) a private licensed child-placing agency; or
``(C) a licensed attorney.
``(b) Adoption Advertising.--
``(1) Offense.--Whoever, in any circumstance described in
subsection (d), knowingly places an adoption advertisement
shall be punished in accordance with subsection (e).
``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
``(A) a public child-placing agency or private
licensed child-placing agency licensed to provide
services in the State wherein the advertisement
appears;
``(B) an attorney licensed in the State wherein the
advertisement appears; or
``(C) an adoption service provider accredited or
approved in accordance with the Intercountry Adoption
Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 1490 note) advertising an
intercountry adoption program.
``(c) Unauthorized Payments to or on Behalf of a Placing Parent.--
``(1) Offense.--Whoever, in any circumstance described in
subsection (d), knowingly provides anything of value, including
money, property, or services, whether payment is made directly
or indirectly for the benefit of the placing parent in
furtherance of an adoption in an amount exceeding $500, shall
be punished in accordance with subsection (e).
``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply with
respect to payments made by or in cooperation with--
``(A) a private child-placing agency licensed in
the State where the placing parent resides or is
located; or
``(B) an attorney licensed in the State where the
placing parent resides or is located.
``(d) Applications.--For the purposes of sections (a), (b), and
(c), the circumstances described in these subsections are that--
``(1) the offender or victim traveled in interstate
commerce, or traveled using a means, channel, facility, or
instrumentality of interstate commerce, in furtherance of or in
connection with the conduct described in subsections (a), (b),
or (c);
``(2) the offender used a means, channel, facility, or
instrumentality of interstate commerce in furtherance of or in
connection with the conduct described in subsections (a), (b),
or (c);
``(3) any payment of any kind was made, directly or
indirectly, in furtherance of or in connection with the conduct
described in subsections (a), (b), or (c) using any means,
channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate commerce or
in or affecting interstate commerce;
``(4) the offender transmitted in interstate commerce any
communication relating to or in furtherance of the conduct
described in subsections (a), (b), or (c) using any means,
channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate commerce or
in or affecting interstate commerce by any means or in manner,
including by computer, mail, wire, or electromagnetic
transmission; or
``(5) the conduct described in subsection (a) otherwise
occurred in or affected interstate or foreign commerce.
``(e) Penalty.--Whoever violates subsection (a), (b), or (c)--
``(1) in the case of an individual, shall be fined
$100,000, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, per
violation; or
``(2) in the case of an organization, shall be fined
$250,000 per violation.
``(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to affect the application of the Indian Child Welfare Act of
1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) or limit the provision of intercountry
adoption programs and services authorized under the Intercountry
Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14921).
``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Adoption advertising.--The term `adoption
advertising' means a paid advertisement, article, notice, or
other paid communication published in any newspaper, magazine,
or on the internet, on a billboard, over radio or television,
or other similar media that--
``(A) solicits prospective adoptive parents for the
purpose of acting as a link between a placing parent
and a prospective adoptive parent, or the prospective
adoptive parent's representative, attorney, or agency,
for the transfer of legal or physical custody of a
child, including adoptive placement;
``(B) solicits placing parents for the purpose of
acting as a link between a placing parent and a
prospective adoptive parent, or the prospective
adoptive parent's representative, attorney, or agency,
for the transfer of legal or physical custody of a
child, including adoptive placement; or
``(C) offers to pay a placing parent's living
expenses in connection with any transfer or potential
transfer of legal or physical custody of a child,
including adoptive placement.
``(2) Adoption intermediary services.--The term `adoption
intermediary services' means the provision of any of the
following services, in exchange for direct or indirect
compensation:
``(A) Soliciting placing parents, whether through
adoption advertising or other means, for the purposes
of acting as a link between a placing parent and a
prospective adoptive parent, or the prospective
adoptive parent's representative, attorney, or agency,
for the transfer of legal or physical custody of their
child, including adoptive placement.
``(B) Soliciting prospective adoptive parents,
whether through adoption advertising or other means,
for the purpose of acting as a link between a placing
parent and a prospective adoptive parent, or the
prospective adoptive parent's representative, attorney,
or agency, for the transfer of legal or physical
custody of a child, including adoptive placement.
``(C) Acting as a link between placing parents of a
child and prospective adoptive parents, whether
directly or through the prospective adoptive parents'
representative, agency, or attorney, for the purpose of
the transfer of physical or legal custody of the child,
including adoptive placement.
``(3) Placing parent.--The term `placing parent' means a
parent with legal authority to place the child for adoption.
``(4) Public child-placing agency.--The term `public child-
placing agency' means any government child welfare agency or
child protection agency that has the legal authority to place
children for adoption.
``(5) Private licensed child-placing agency.--The term
`private licensed child-placing agency' means a licensed or
State approved agency that has the legal authority to place
children for adoption.''.
(b) Clerical Amendments.--
(1) Chapter heading.--The chapter heading for chapter 11A
of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``AND
UNLAWFUL ADOPTION PRACTICES'' after ``CHILD SUPPORT''.
(2) Table of sections.--The table of sections for chapter
11A of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding after
the item relating to section 228, the following:
``228A. Unlawful adoption practices.''.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that
is 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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