Quid Pro Quo in Vietnamese Ambassador Nominee Approval UPDATED

Two of the subjects of the Rant, Both Ends Burning and adoptive forum writer Andrea Poe are promoting this story of  Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) blocking Vietnamese Ambassador nominee “David Shear, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, who since 2009 has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the Department of State.” Their goal is to force the DOS to grandfather the “pipeline” referrals under the old process.

“Shear was expected to sail through the Foreign Relations Committee, as all other ambassador-designates have, but troubling developments at the Department of State, led adoption advocates and adoptive families to mount a challenge to Shear’s nomination. ”

“Last week Senator Rubio placed a hold on the nomination in an effort to get assistance for American families whose children are stranded in orphanages in Vietnam. His hold follows that of Senator Dick Lugar, Republican from Indiana, who initially placed a hold on Shear nomination last month amid concerns.

“Senator Lugar placed a temporary hold on Ambassador-designate Shear’s nomination in an effort to secure information about the status of assistance to American families with pending adoption cases in Vietnam,” explains Andy Fisher, a senior aide to Lugar. “This included responses to requests made by the families to obtain copies of their respective adoption files from the Departments of State and Homeland Security. Unfortunately, the families had encountered innumerable roadblocks in this regard.”

“American families who received referrals for orphans in Vietnam more than three years ago are in limbo as the United States rethinks its international adoption policy. Known as “pipeline families,” these U.S. citizens were matched with orphan children, their paperwork processed in the U.S and in Vietnam.”

“Adoption advocates asked that that these adoptions be grandfathered in under the rules in which these adoptions were originally processed.

They urge that the subsequent DNA matches, relinquishment records from birth mothers and other paperwork be accepted so that these children can be reunited with their families while the United States and Vietnam work out the final details of inter-country adoptions going forward.

“Senator Lugar and Senator Rubio should be commended for their efforts on behalf of their constituents and these children. For years, the Department of State has been unable to provide complete or consistent answers about these cases, and has been unwilling to help solve the problem,” says Kelly Ensslin, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based attorney for two of the pipeline families whose children are awaiting finalization of their adoption.”

Rubio blocks Obama’s nominee for Vietnamese ambassador
[Washington Times 5/23/11 by Andrea Poe]

See Vietnamese initiatives of implementing the Hague Convention and focusing on a child welfare infrastructure  here  and here.

Update: “The Senate also confirmed Tuesday the nomination of David Shear as ambassador to Vietnam that had been blocked by lawmakers protesting the State Department’s handling of the stalled adoptions of 16 Vietnamese orphans by American families.

The cases went into bureaucratic limbo in 2008 when Washington suspended its adoption agreement with Vietnam over broad suspicions of fraud and baby selling, and as Vietnam moved to join the international Hague Convention on adoptions that imposes tighter rules. Some families blame the U.S. State Department for the delays.

Two senators lifted their hold on the confirmation after Shear outlined his strategy for expediting the cases with the Vietnamese government, staff of the lawmakers said.

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, where three of the families live, was satisfied that Shear was interested in resolving the cases, Rubio’s spokesman Alex Burgos said. Shear indicated to Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu in a meeting last week that the adoptions would be a top priority and the senator felt the families would be better served if the confirmation went ahead, according to an aide to Landrieu. The Louisiana lawmaker advocates on adoption issues.

Obama nominated Shear, a 29-year foreign service veteran, as ambassador in December 2010. Shear previously served as deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.”

Senate confirms 1st US special envoy to Myanmar
[Taiwan News 8/4/11 by Matthew Pennington/Associated Press]

See our Bac Lieu 16 coverage here.

REFORM Puzzle Piece