Senator James Inhofe

Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), is a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and serves as co-chairman of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption. He is an outspoken advocate for orphans from impoverished regions, particularly children from Africa and most recently, the children who were orphaned after the earthquake in Haiti.

The story of Senator Inhofe’s involvement with intercountry adoption is a very personal one. His granddaughter, Zegita Marie, or “Z-girl” as he calls her, was adopted by his daughter Molly from an orphanage in Ethiopia as a baby. Zegita was left for dead on the streets of Addis Ababa, where she was found by a local orphanage. Inhofe often remarks on what might have become of his beloved Z-girl had the orphanage not found her when they did. He often speaks of her proudly, recognizing what a smart and confident young girl she has become. Though she is only 9 years old, she has traveled to Washington for several years to speak at an annual dinner hosted by the senator, which gathers together hundreds of African leaders.

Because of this personal involvement, Senator Inhofe knows of the difficulties many prospective adoptive parents face. For this reason, he is a sponsor of several legislative measures aimed at easing these burdens, including the Families for Orphans Act, which will better coordinate State Department efforts on behalf of orphaned children, and the Foreign Adopted Children Equality Act, which seeks to streamline the international adoption process so that a child adopted by an American parent becomes a citizen of the U.S. at the point of full and final adoption. Most recently, Senator Inhofe cosponsored the Help Haitian Adoptees Immediately to Integrate Act of 2010 (HELP Haiti Act). Under the new legislation, which Inhofe introduced with Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Haitian orphans adopted by American families following the devastating earthquake will have much needed relief and legal certainty. This legislation passed the Senate on August 5th, and will allow these children and their families a smoother and quicker path through the naturalization process.

"It is estimated that there are over 143 million orphans in the world today, and millions of them are growing up on the streets or in institutions that lack the resources to provide the love and care that every child deserves,” said Inhofe. “I have seen this problem first-hand in my travels to the continent of Africa.  Unfortunately, many nations lack the number of willing and able individuals to adopt and care for these children. It is vitally important that adults from outside nations be allowed to take action to address this problem. I want to work to make it easier for American families to adopt, and easier for orphaned children to be adopted."