WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley is continuing his effort to help find a humanitarian solution to pending cases for as many as 230 American families trying to adopt orphans in Russia.
Grassley joined a group of 154 members of Congress in a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to raise the adoption issue directly with President Vladimir Putin when the presidents meet at the G8 nation summit later this month. Click here to see the letter.
"Russia`s about face at the end of last year is painfully personal for families who were already matched with children," Grassley said. Parents and children have met and bonded. Many of the kids need medical care. They need permanent homes."
In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law to stop Americans from adopting Russian children. Earlier in the year, the Russian Parliament had simplified American adoptions. The new law was a reaction to U.S. sanctions against human rights violators in Russia.
The State Department and Citizenship and Immigration Services have identified options for getting the children to the United States despite the ban.
Grassley said he hopes that having a coalition of senators speaking up can help President Obama find a way out of the political morass for these orphaned children.
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