Foreign Abduction Bill Advances

The House today approved a bill that would make it easier for a parent to recover a child who is abducted and taken to a foreign country, often by the other parent.

The measure, passed by voice vote and sent to the Senate, would enable the U.S. government to implement an international treaty intended to overcome complex, time-consuming legal issues blocking the prompt return of abducted children from a foreign country. The United States signed the treaty in 1981. Although it was approved by the Senate in October, 1986, the United States has not ratified the pact because the State Department said implementing legislation was needed first.