WASHINGTON   –  “I can think of few scenarios in life more harrowing than losing a child to abduction.  Yet, thousands of American families experience this nightmare every year.  One of the most frequent occurrences of abduction is spousal abduction; it’s a serious problem which can traumatize a child.  Nationally, 800,000 children are reported missing in the U.S. every year.  A quarter of that total are abducted by family members.

We have tough state and federal laws to help prevent abductions and to punish offenders.  But the laws in place are not enough to prevent spousal child abduction on the international level.

Right now, more than 2,800 children are being held in foreign countries against the wishes of their American parent.  More than 1,900 families are divided by the illegal transport of a child to other countries.  These numbers are rising – in the last three years, reported international child abductions have gone up by 60 percent. 

These cases are complicated, and they often drag on for years as parents wait for their children to be returned to them from abroad.

I’m the cosponsor of an effort to enable the United States to aggressively pursue cases in which a child is abducted to a foreign country.  This legislation would devote new resources and more scrutiny to an issue which is often overlooked, but is nevertheless very important to address.  Most important, this bill would allow the federal government to aggressively pursue the recovery of abducted American children in other countries when a nation is uncooperative with U.S. requests.

Children who are victimized by spousal abductions lose their relationship with a parent, and when they are abducted to a foreign country, they also lose their relationship to their American culture.  The experience is especially damaging to the health, growth and development of the child because they are separated from their parent, but also from their country.  Children who are victimized by spousal abduction suffer serious emotional and psychological problems, and they are at risk for a multitude of challenging conditions and disorders for the rest of their lives.

We need a new focus on spousal abductions and a commitment to resolve the most difficult of these cases – international abductions – to restore families and prevent these difficult situations before they develop.

International abductions are different than those that take place within the boundaries of our own states or counties, but it is also important for all of our communities to be aware of the magnitude of the child abduction problem.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a wonderful website at www.missingkids.com which offers information and updates on this and many other issues related to the well-being of American children.  I hope you will visit their website, learn more about safety for the children in our communities, and follow this issue as closely as I will.”