Iowa House introduces resolution urging Congress to naturalize some internationally adopted adults

The Iowa House of Representatives introduced House Resolution 14 on the House floor, calling on the president of the United States and the United States Congress to support passage of the Adoptee Citizenship Act to naturalize certain people who were adopted as children outside the United States.

The resolution says the Child Citizenship Act did not grant citizenship to adoptees who were older than 18 when that law became effective, leaving ‘‘a significant number of adoptees’’ without citizenship. It lists practical barriers those adults face, including limits on access to banking services, voting, U.S. passports, driver’s licenses, Social Security and disability benefits, financial aid for postsecondary education, and entry into the armed forces.

House Resolution 14, read on the floor by Representative Dunwell after being recognized by Representative Winchill, recounts that adoptees affected by the Child Citizenship Act came to the United States from countries including Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, El Salvador, India, Ireland, Haiti, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Panama, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Saint Kitts, Taiwan, Ukraine and Vietnam. The resolution notes that Congress has been working on the Adoptee Citizenship Act and says its passage would naturalize many adoptees who were brought to the United States as children under the expectation of U.S. citizenship.

The resolution directs that copies be distributed to the president of the United States, the president of the United States Senate, the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the chairs and ranking members of the U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees and to each member of Iowa’s congressional delegation. On the House floor Representative Dunwell moved the resolution, saying, "Mister speaker, I move house resolution 14." The transcript does not record a second or a vote on the resolution during the portion of the session provided.

The measure notes bipartisan activity in Congress and cites praise from adoption-advocacy organizations, but it does not itself change federal law; it is an expression of the Iowa House’s position and a request that federal leaders support the Adoptee Citizenship Act. No final action on the resolution (a recorded vote or referral) is shown in the provided transcript.

Procedural items at the end of the excerpt show the House recessed after a separate motion; the record does not indicate further floor action on House Resolution 14 in the supplied transcript.