Klobuchar Recognizes Family from Byron as 2025 Angels in Adoption

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Co-Chair of the Congressional Adoption Caucus, spoke at the annual Angels in Adoption celebration hosted by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute in Washington DC and recognized Tamara and Jeramy Lawson of Byron, Minnesota as this year's Angels in Adoption Minnesota honorees, alongside their adopted sons Jiang Li and Liam.

The Lawsons planned to adopt their son Jiang Li, a five-year-old boy with physical disabilities, from China but the pandemic stalled the adoption. After years of waiting, the Lawsons were finally approved to travel to China to complete Jiang Li's adoption and were able to bring him home. By the time the new family was united, Jiang Li was already nine years old.

"Every child deserves a loving home, a nurturing family and a bright future," said Klobuchar. "Tamara and Jeramy Lawson waited years to be united with their son Jiang Li, and as he strived to become more independent they provided him with the support he needed - including adaptive equipment purchased with a grant from Children's Home Adoption Support Fund. Since then, their son has gone from being 20% independent to about 80% independent. If that doesn't show the power of a loving family, I don't know what does."

In her role as Co-Chair of the Congressional Adoption Caucus, Klobuchar has been a leader in the fight to give every child a permanent home. To date, Senator Klobuchar's office has assisted more than 1,500 Minnesota families with their adoption cases.

In response to China's pause on adoption cases during the pandemic and the country's subsequent decision to end its intercountry adoption program, Klobuchar has advocated for the completion of pending adoption cases for the hundreds of children and American families matched prior to the pandemic. Many of these children have special health care needs, and some will soon age out of care systems without the support of a permanent family.

In March, Klobuchar led a letterwith her Adoption Caucus Co-Chairs, Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), and Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), as well as Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), urging President Trump to act in the best interest of these children and press the Chinese government to finalize pending adoptions cases. This letter was signed by more than 100 members of Congress.

Photos of the Lawsons and Klobuchar at the Angels in Adoption annual celebration can be found hereand here.

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