When you hear U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu talk about federal adoption policies, it might be worth listening, as she is uniquely positioned to know how the issue can affect Louisiana families
When you hear U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu talk about federal adoption policies, it might be worth listening, as she is uniquely positioned to know how the issue can affect Louisiana families. By Jeremy Alford
Friday, March 1, 2013
"My husband and I are blessed with two precious, adopted children, and I am hopeful that this credit will encourage others to consider enlarging their families through adoption," says Landrieu, a New Orleans Democrat.
Additionally, her husband, Frank Snellings of Monroe, was adopted from an orphanage in Ireland at a young age.
Unlike her husband and their children, Landrieu has more traditional roots in south Louisiana, having been the oldest of nine children in what remains a sizable extended family.
But that has helped inform her politics on the issue, too.
"I grew up in a loving and large family and know how important it is for children - and adults - to have a family they can count on," Landrieu says.
The senator is a champion for adoptive families on Capitol Hill, where she most recently introduced the Making Adoption Affordable Act last fall. It would have made the adoption tax credit permanent, which Congress ended up doing through different means as part of the so-called fiscal cliff deal.
"For families who have generously opened their hearts and homes to a child, the adoption tax credit gives them important assistance along the journey," Landrieu says.
While the $10,000 tax credit was made permanent, adoption supporters were unable to make it refundable for families whose tax liability is less than the credit.