Girls Count Act of 2014 - Authorizes the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to:
Directs the Secretary to coordinate with multilateral organizations to work with countries to enact laws that collect data on girls and establish registration and identification laws to ensure that girls participate in the social, economic, legal and political sectors of their countries.
Urges the Secretary and the Administrator to work with U.S., 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.
Directs the Secretary and the Administrator to include in reports to Congress information regarding: (1) U.S. foreign and development assistance beneficiaries by age, gender, marital status, location, and school enrollment status; and (2) how U.S. foreign and development assistance benefits girls.
Sunsets
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3398 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3398
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 30, 2013
Mr. Chabot (for himself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, and Ms. McCollum)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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 2013''.
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, every year 51,000,000 children under 5 are not registered
at birth, most of whom are girls.
(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. The
lack of such documentation prevents girls and women from
officially participating in and benefitting from the formal
economic, legal, and political sectors in their countries.
(5) Without the ability to gain employment and
identification necessary to participate officially in these
sectors, women and girls are confined to the home and left
unpaid and often-invisible members of society.
(6) 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.
(7) 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.
(8) 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 effect 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;
(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 all relevant
congressionally mandated reports and documents the following
information:
(1) United States foreign assistance and development
assistance beneficiaries by age, gender, and to the extent
possible, marital status, location, and school enrollment
status in all programs and sectors.
(2) A description of how United States foreign assistance
and development assistance benefits girls.
(3) All 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) Development assistance.--The term ``development
assistance'' means--
(A) assistance under--
(i) chapter 1 of part 1 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961;
(ii) the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003
(22 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.);
(iii) the United States Leadership Against
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003
(22 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.);
(iv) title V of the International Security
and Development Cooperation Act of 1980 (22
U.S.C. 290h et seq.; relating to the African
Development Foundation); or
(v) section 401 of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1969 (22 U.S.C. 290f; relating to the
Inter-American Foundation);
(B) official development assistance under any
provision of law; and
(C) reconstruction assistance under any provision
of law.
(3) Foreign assistance.--The term ``foreign assistance''
means any tangible or intangible item provided by the United
States Government to a foreign country or international
organization under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or any other Act, including any training,
service, or technical advice, any item of real, personal, or
mixed property, any agricultural commodity, any gift, loan,
sale, credit, guarantee, or export subsidy, United States
dollars, and any currencies of any foreign country which are
owned by the United States Government.
(4) 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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.
Mr. Royce moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H8104-8106)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3398.
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H8104)
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H8104)
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
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