article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Anti-Fraudulent Intercountry Adoption Practices Act of 1996''. SEC. 2. CRIMINAL PROVISIONS. (a) In General.--Title 18 of the United States Code is amended by redesignating chapter 2 as chapter 2B and inserting before such chapter the following: ``CHAPTER 2A--ADOPTION SERVICES ``Sec. ``21. False pretenses in connection with the offering of adoption services. ``22. Placing a child for adoption for compensation. ``23. Definitions. ``24. Effect on State law and regulation. ``CHAPTER 2A--ADOPTION SERVICES ``Sec. 21. False pretenses in connection with the offering of adoption services ``(a) It shall be unlawful for any person, offering to perform any act or render any service in connection with the placement of a child for adoption, to knowingly and willfully falsify, conceal, or cover up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or make any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations, or make or use any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, in connection with the performance of such act or the rendition of such service or the offer to do so. ``(b) The material facts, documents, and representations referred to in subsection (a) include-- ``(1) information about the political or legal conditions and circumstances prevalent and anticipated in any country in which the legal proceedings of the adoption are to take place and which may affect the adoption process, including, but not limited to, information regarding how such conditions and circumstances may affect the time period in which the adoption process is to be completed; and ``(2) information released by the United States Department of State in the form of travel notices and other advisories regarding the adoption process in any country in which the legal proceedings of the adoption are to take place. ``(c) Any person who violates this section shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, fined not more than $10,000, or both. ``Sec. 22. Placing a child for adoption for compensation ``(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly and willfully solicit or receive money or any thing of value, or the promise thereof, for placing or arranging for the placement of any child for adoption under circumstances that would require or result in such child being transported in interstate or foreign commerce. ``(b) Any person who violates this section shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, fined not more than $10,000, or both. ``(c) This section shall not apply to any person who-- ``(1) solicits or receives money or any thing of value as the bona fide agent of a child care or adoption agency, public or private, which is authorized or licensed by a State to place children for adoption, in exchange for services rendered by the agency; ``(2) solicits or receives reasonable services rendered in connection with the consultation regarding, and the preparation and execution of documents necessary to accomplish, the legal placement of a child for adoption; or ``(3) solicits or receives reasonable fees solely in connection with the consultation regarding, and the rendition of, professional medical services related to the prenatal care of a woman or the delivery, examination, or treatment of a child for adoption. ``Sec. 23. Definitions ``As used in this chapter: ``(1) The term `child' has the meaning given such term in section 101(b)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. ``(2) The term `State' includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. ``Sec. 24. Effect on State law and regulation ``Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit or otherwise affect the applicability or validity of any State law or regulation that may govern the placement of children in a home for adoption.''. (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters for part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to chapter 2 and inserting the following: ``2A. Adoption practices.................................... 21 ``2B. Aircraft and motor vehicles........................... 31.''. SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS THAT THERE SHOULD BE CIVIL REMEDIES FOR VICTIMS OF FRAUDULENT ADOPTION PRACTICES. (a) Defrauding Prospective Adoptive Parents; Civil Remedies.--It is the sense of the Congress that-- (1) any person who, having accepted money or anything of value in connection with an offer of, or performance of, any service or act relating to the placement of a child for adoption, has committed a violation of the provisions of chapter 2A of title 18, United States Code, should be liable for damages to any individual who has paid money or anything of value for the performance of such service or act; (2) the district courts of the United States should have jurisdiction to hear such cases regardless of the amount in controversy, and the plaintiff in such actions should be entitled to recover any money or thing of value (or the monetary equivalent thereof) which was provided to the defendant in exchange for the offer or promise to perform the act or service in question, in addition to punitive damages, costs of suit, and attorney's fees, where appropriate; and (3) the court may further impose such other penalties that may be provided for by State or Federal law. (b) Defrauding Birth Mother; Civil Remedies.--It is further the sense of the Congress that-- (1) any person who, having agreed to pay the expenses of a pregnant woman in return for the giving up of the child for adoption, commits an act of fraud in either stating the agreement or in performing it, should, if such woman traveled in interstate or foreign commerce because of the agreement, be liable to such woman for damages incurred as a result of the failure to perform any act or service covered by such agreement; (2) the district courts of the United States should have jurisdiction to hear such cases regardless of the amount in controversy, and the plaintiff in such actions should be entitled to recover such consequential and punitive damages, plus costs of suit and attorney's fees, as may be appropriate; and (3) the court may further impose such other penalties that may be provided for by State or Federal law.
summary: Anti-Fraudulent Intercountry Adoption Practices Act of 1996 - Prohibits any person offering to perform any act or render any service in connection with the placement of a child for adoption from knowingly falsifying or concealing a material fact or from making or using any false document. Defines "material facts, documents, and representations" to include: (1) information about the political or legal conditions and circumstances in any country in which the legal proceedings of the adoption are to take place that may affect the adoption process; and (2) information released by the U.S. Department of State in the form of travel notices and other advisories regarding the adoption process in any such country. Sets penalties for violations. Prohibits knowingly soliciting or receiving money or anything of value for placing any child for adoption under circumstances that require such child to be transported in interstate or foreign commerce, with exceptions. Sets penalties for violations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that there should be civil remedies for victims of fraudulent adoption practices.