WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar today made the following statement on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to sign legislation that would ban Americans from adopting Russian children. Last week Klobuchar sent a letter to President Putin calling on him to veto the bill so that loving families in Minnesota and across the country can continue to welcome Russian children into their homes.

“In Minnesota, we open our arms and our homes to children from all corners of the globe,” Klobuchar said. “Right now there are Minnesota families who are waiting to give Russian children the loving homes they deserve, and these families and children as well as countless families and children to come will be the real victims of this ban. I will continue to work to help families impacted by this harmful law.”

Based on the statistics of the past few years, at any given moment there are at least 1,000 Russian children in the process of finding permanent homes in the United States. Minnesota has the highest rate of international adoptions in the United States.

Senator Klobuchar has been a strong advocate of supporting families throughout both domestic and international adoption processes. She authored the International Adoption Simplification Act to help siblings stay together during an international adoption and protect adoptees from unsafe immunizations in foreign countries. The bill was signed into law on November 30, 2010.  Senator Klobuchar is also the author of the Supportive Adoptive Families Act, which would provide pre- and post-adoption support services, including for mental health needs, to help adoptive families stay strong.