Congressman urges President to engage with Congolese government

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in urging the United States government to address the issue of stalled adoptions with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ahead of the Congolese Prime Minister's attendance at a summit in the United States next month.

"The United States can and should speak with one voice when it comes to resolving this issue and uniting these families," Braley said. "Iowa families have made the courageous decision to bring a child into their homes and are being prevented from doing that by red tape–and that's not right."

Recently, a resolution introduced by Braley calling on the Congolese government to resolve the issue passed unanimously in the U.S. House.

Over 900 U.S. families have had their adoptions suspended by the DRC. Some, including Erin and Michael Peat of Dubuque were granted their adoption visa by the United States. However, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) suddenly refused to issue exit letters, which is the final step allowing families to bring their children to the United States.

In June, Braley met with Erin Peat and Kevin and Dawn Schafer of West Des Moines, along with other families who are facing delays in their adoptions from the DRC.

Braley has written the Congolese Prime Minister, the Congolese Ambassador to the United States, and Secretary of State John Kerry calling for a resolution to this issue.

The Letter to President Obama can be found below.

June 16, 2014

The Honorable Barack Obama

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama,

We write to ask for your personal engagement to resolve over 900 international adoption cases of Congolese children who either have been or are in the process of being adopted by American families, yet who are unable to obtain Congolese exit permits due to a suspension in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We understand that you have invited President Joseph Kabila to Washington in August for the first ever U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, and we urge you to use this event and the time leading up to it as an opportunity to press for an expeditious resolution that is in the best interest of these children.

In September 2013, the DRC suspended the issuance of exit permits for children adopted by foreign parents, reportedly due to concerns about suspected malfeasance in the local DRC adoption process and lack of information about the well-being of adopted children after they arrived in their new homes.  This suspension is having tragic consequences for these children as they wait to be united with their American families.  Already, 10 children who were matched with American families have died since the suspension went into place and many more have urgent, life-threatening medical problems. There are over 350 children who have been legally adopted by US families and have been given Congolese passports and U.S. visas, but are still waiting for exit letters to be able to leave the DRC.

Overcoming this impasse is a priority for many in Congress and we appreciate the State Department's efforts to raise this issue with its Congolese counterparts. In April of this year, a bipartisan and bicameral group of 170 Members of Congress wrote to President Kabila and Prime Minister Matata Ponyo, urging the DRC government to resume processing exit permits for adopted children. To date, there has been no official response to this letter. Secretary Kerry raised this issue directly with President Kabila during his visit to Kinshasa in May and later that month the DRC government did release exit letters for 19 children adopted by American families, 4 of whom were medically fragile. Unfortunately, this represented only a small percentage of the completed cases and leaves dozens of critically ill children without the medical care they need to survive. The U.S. Department of State has continuously engaged the Congolese government to resolve the remaining completed cases, but to date all overtures have been unsuccessful. For example, when the DRC Director of General Migration (DGM) Francois Beya visited the United States in June, he received multiple requests for meetings ranging from State Department officials to Members of Congress. Mr. Beya declined to schedule any meetings on the suspended exit permit issue. That is why we are requesting your direct engagement with President Kabila.

We respectfully request that you raise this human rights crisis with President Kabila prior to his attendance at the U.S.-African Leaders Summit next month, and then use the opportunity of the summit to press for a firm resolution.  We would appreciate your leadership on this issue to help unite these children and their families.

Thank you for your attention to this important request.

Sincerely,

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Iowa's Congressional delegation writes joint letter supporting Gov. Branstad's request

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today asked President Obama to quickly approve a federal disaster declaration requested by Governor Terry Branstad for 26 Iowa counties that sustained significant storm damage and flooding in recent weeks. Braley's letter was also signed by Rep. Loebsack (IA-02), Rep. Latham (IA-03), and Rep. King (IA-04).

"Just weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit affected areas and see first-hand the damage these storms left across the state," Braley said. "I will do everything possible to ensure that Iowa communities have the resources they need to recover and rebuild and I'm proud to join my colleagues in this bipartisan effort."

Braley's letter was sent in support of Governor Branstad's request for a presidential disaster declaration for the Iowa counties. Severe weather between June 14 and June 23, 2014 including tornadoes, flooding and heavy rains caused significant damage to infrastructure and property in parts of the state including the 1^st District. The storms caused an estimated $11.6 million that could be eligible for Federal Public Assistance.

"We respectfully urge your swift consideration of this request and express our support for the designation," Braley's letter reads.

Branstad is requesting federal funding for the counties of Allamakee, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Fayette, Franklin, Hancock, Humboldt, Ida, Kossuth, Lyon, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Sac, Sioux, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, and Wright.

The letter to President Obama can be found below:

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write in support of a recent request from Governor Terry Branstad for a presidential disaster designation for 26 counties in Iowa. Severe weather, including storms, damaging winds, tornadoes, heavy rain, hail and flooding caused significant damage in those 26 counties.

Governor Branstad is requesting federal Public Assistance Program funding for the counties of Allamakee, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Fayette, Franklin, Hancock, Humboldt, Ida, Kossuth, Lyon, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Sac, Sioux, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, and Wright. These counties experienced severe weather between June 14, 2014 and June 23, 2014.

This severe weather caused significant damage to infrastructure and private property. A joint federal, state, and local preliminary damage assessment determined that damage caused by the severe weather in these counties caused an estimated $11.6 million of damage that could be eligible for Public Assistance.  A major disaster declaration will help ensure these counties make a complete recovery.

We respectfully urge your swift consideration of this request and express our support for the designation. Thank you for your time and consideration of this important matter.

Sincerely,

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