{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-klobuchar-commend-unanimous-senate-passage-of-resolution-marking-november-as-national-adoption-month", "Blunt, Klobuchar Commend Unanimous Senate Passage of Resolution Marking November as National Adoption Month", "2020-12-03", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Roy Blunt", "B000575", "www.blunt.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.),\r\nco-chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA), today announced\r\nthat their resolution marking November as National Adoption Month passed the\r\nSenate with unanimous support. As co-chairs of the bipartisan CCA, Blunt and\r\nKlobuchar work to engage Members of Congress on issues pertaining to children\r\nin need of permanent homes, children in the foster care system, and domestic\r\nand international child welfare. There are more than 400,000 children in the U.S. foster\r\ncare system and millions of children around the world without a safe, stable\r\nhome, said Blunt. As a proud adoptive parent, I hope that bringing awareness\r\nto issues around adoption will encourage more families to consider opening\r\ntheir home to a child in need. I'll continue advocating for policies to improve\r\nthe adoption process, support adoptive families, and get us closer to our goal\r\nof seeing every child in the permanent, loving home they deserve.  This is the sixth consecutive year that Blunt and Klobuchar\r\nhave led legislation to recognize November as National Adoption Month and to\r\nmark National Adoption Day. National Adoption Month is an opportunity to bring\r\nattention to, and support, adoptive families who open their hearts and homes to\r\ndeserving children, said Klobuchar. As Senate co-chairs of the Congressional\r\nCoalition on Adoption, Senator Blunt and I continue to work with colleagues on\r\nboth sides of the aisle to help make the adoption process better for children\r\nand families across our country. It's important to increase awareness about\r\nchildren in need of loving homes and to honor the hard work of these nurturing adoptive\r\nfamilies. Blunt and Klobuchar have been leaders in the fight to give\r\nevery child a permanent home.  Last month, legislation they helped introduce - the Intercountry Adoption Information Act of 2019 - was signed into law. The\r\nbipartisan bill provides updated, quality information to Americans trying to\r\nadopt children from other countries. Also last month, Blunt and Klobuchar sent\r\na letter encouraging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and\r\nDepartment of State (DOS) to take action to raise awareness of the importance\r\nof adoption and foster care during National Adoption Month. In October, they led a letter urging DOS to prioritize\r\npolicies to promote intercountry adoption as the department searches for new\r\naccrediting entities for intercountry adoption service providers. In April, they led a letter asking DOS to use all available\r\nresources to ensure that intercountry adoptions proceed in a safe and timely\r\nmanner during the coronavirus pandemic and that American families stranded\r\nabroad while completing these adoptions return home safely. Blunt and Klobuchar\r\nalso requested information on the steps DOS is taking to issue visas for\r\nintercountry adoptions that have been finalized as well as how DOS is providing\r\ndetailed and consistent communications to families attempting to complete an\r\nintercountry adoption. In May 2019, they introduced the Supporting Adoptive Families Act to help ensure adoptive families have access to pre- and post-\r\nadoption services, including mental and behavioral health treatment. In February 2019, they introduced legislation to improve the\r\nintercountry adoption process. The bipartisan Intercountry Adoption Advisory Committee Act would provide Secretary of State the authority to establish an\r\nIntercountry Adoption Advisory Committee within the Bureau of Consular Affairs\r\nto focus on coordinating the development, refinement, and implementation of\r\npolicy and programs on intercountry adoption.  The full text of the resolution is available here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-klobuchar-commend-unanimous-senate-passage-of-resolution-marking-november-as-national-adoption-month"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5372042544186115, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}