Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
 Throughout his service in Congress, Jim Oberstar has been a leader in adoption and child welfare issues. More than thirty years ago, Jim Oberstar introduced one of the first bills to use the tax code to promote adoption. His legislation in 1975 would have provided a $500 deduction for medical expenses associated with the adoption of a child. In 1985, Congressman Oberstar was instrumental in the creation of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, and he continues to serve as the House Democratic Co-Chair of this important congressional caucus. In 2001, Congressman Oberstar was the chief Democratic cosponsor of the Hope For Children Act which extended and expanded the adoption tax credit to $10,000. That same year, Congressman Oberstar helped create the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, and he served as the first President of the Institute Board. As an adoptive parent, Jim Oberstar knows the immense joys as well as challenges of adoption and he continues to support efforts to promote leave benefits for adoptive parents, and expand opportunities for families to adopt children from foster care and internationally.
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