[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3398 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3398
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 20, 2014
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To authorize the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development to provide assistance to
support the rights of women and girls in developing countries, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Girls Count Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) According to the United States Census Bureau's 2013
international figures, 1 person in 12--or close to 900,000,000
people--is a girl or young woman age 10 through 24.
(2) The data also asserts that young people are the fastest
growing segment of the population in developing countries.
(3) Even though most countries do have birth registration
laws, nearly one-third of all children under the age of 5
worldwide have never had their births registered. Moreover, an
estimated 45 percent of children under the age of 5 worldwide
(about 290 million children) do not possess a birth
certificate.
(4) A nationally recognized proof of birth is the key to
determining a child's citizenship, nationality, place of birth,
parentage and age, without which a passport, drivers license,
or national identification card are impossible to obtain. Those
who lack such documentation are often prevented from officially
participating in and benefitting from the formal economic,
legal, and political sectors in their countries.
(5) The lack of birth registration among girls worldwide is
particularly concerning as it exacerbates their
disproportionate vulnerability to trafficking, child marriage,
and lack of access to health and education services.
(6) A lack of birth registration among women and girls can
also aggravate what in many places amounts to an already
reduced ability to seek employment, participate in civil
society or purchase or inherit land and other assets.
(7) Girls undertake much of the domestic labor needed for
poor families to survive: carrying water, harvesting crops,
tending livestock, caring for younger children, and doing
chores.
(8) Accurate assessments of access to education, poverty
levels, and overall census activities are hampered by the lack
of official information on women and girls. Without this
rudimentary information, assessments of foreign assistance and
domestic social welfare programs cannot be accurately gauged.
(9) To ensure that women and girls are fully integrated
into United States foreign assistance policies and programs,
that the specific needs of girls are, to the maximum extent
possible, addressed in the design, implementation, and
evaluation of development assistance programs, and that women
and girls have the power to affect the decisions that affect
their lives, all girls should be counted and have access to
birth certificates and other official documentation.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to--
(1) encourage countries to uphold the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and enact laws that ensure girls and boys of
all ages are full participants in society, including requiring
birth certifications and some type of national identity card to
ensure that all citizens, including girls, are counted;
(2) enhance training and capacity-building to developing
countries, local nongovernmental organizations, and other civil
society organizations to effectively address the needs of birth
registries in countries where girls are undercounted;
(3) include organizations representing children and
families in the design, implementation, and monitoring of
programs under this Act; and
(4) mainstream into the design, implementation, and
evaluation of policies and programs at all levels an
understanding of the distinctive impact that such policies and
programs may have on girls.
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT COUNTING OF GIRLS IN THE
DEVELOPING WORLD.
(a) Authorization.--The Secretary and the Administrator are
authorized to--
(1) support programs that will contribute to improved and
sustainable Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems
(CRVS) with a focus on birth registration as the first and most
important life event to be registered;
(2) promote programs that build the capacity of developing
countries' national and local legal and policy frameworks to
prevent discrimination against girls;
(3) support programs to help increase property rights,
social security, and home ownership, land tenure security, and
inheritance rights for women; and
(4) assist key ministries in the governments of developing
countries, including health, interior, youth, and education
ministries, to ensure that girls from poor households obtain
equitable access to social programs.
(b) Coordination With Multilateral Organizations.--The Secretary
shall coordinate with the World Bank, relevant United Nations agencies
and programs, and other relevant organizations to urge and work with
countries to enact, implement, and enforce laws that specifically
collect data on girls and establish registration and identification
laws to ensure girls are active participants in the social, economic,
legal and political sectors of society in their countries.
(c) Coordination With Private Sector and Civil Society
Organizations.--The Secretary and the Administrator should work with
United States, international, and local private sector and civil
society organizations to advocate for the registration and
documentation of all girls and boys in developing countries to prevent
exploitation, violence, and other abuses.
SEC. 5. REPORT.
The Secretary and the Administrator shall include in relevant
evaluations and reports to Congress the following information:
(1) To the extent practicable, United States foreign
assistance and development assistance beneficiaries by age,
gender, marital status, location, and school enrollment status.
(2) A description of how United States foreign assistance
and development assistance benefits girls.
(3) Specific information on programs that address the
particular needs of girls.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development.
(2) Foreign assistance.--The term ``foreign assistance''
has the meaning given the term in section 634(b) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394(b)).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of State.
SEC. 7. SUNSET.
This Act shall expire on the date that is 5 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives November 19, 2014.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.