[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6521 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6521

  To protect girls in developing countries through the prevention of 
                child marriage, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 14, 2010

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Rohrabacher, 
 Mr. Manzullo, Mr. Royce, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Mack, Mr. 
 Poe of Texas, Mr. Inglis, Mr. Bilirakis, and Mr. Gallegly) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To protect girls in developing countries through the prevention of 
                child marriage, 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 ``International Prevention of Child 
Marriage Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) child marriage is a violation of human rights and the 
        prevention and elimination of child marriage should be a 
        foreign policy goal of the United States;
            (2) the practice of child marriage undermines United States 
        investments in foreign assistance to promote education and 
        skills building for girls, reduce maternal and child mortality, 
        reduce maternal illness, halt the transmission of HIV/AIDS, 
        prevent gender-based violence, and reduce poverty; and
            (3) educational opportunities for girls, economic 
        opportunities for women, and reducing maternal and child 
        mortality are critical to achieving the global health and 
        development objectives of the United States, including efforts 
        to prevent HIV/AIDS.

SEC. 3. PREVENTION OF CHILD MARRIAGE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

    (a) Strategy Required.--The President, acting through the Secretary 
of State, shall establish a multi-year strategy to prevent child 
marriage in developing countries and to promote the empowerment of 
girls at risk of child marriage in developing countries.
    (b) Consultation.--In carrying out subsection (a), the President 
shall--
            (1) consult with Congress, relevant Federal departments and 
        agencies, and representatives of independent civil society;
            (2) focus on areas in developing countries with high 
        prevalence of child marriage; and
            (3) encompass diplomatic initiatives between the United 
        States and governments of developing countries, with attention 
        to human rights, legal reforms and the rule of law, and 
        programmatic initiatives in the areas of education, health, 
        income generation, human rights, and democracy building.
    (c) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to Congress a 
report that includes--
            (1) the specific steps taken to carry out subsection (a);
            (2) an assessment, including data disaggregated by age and 
        sex to the extent possible, of current United States-funded 
        efforts to specifically prevent child marriage in developing 
        countries; and
            (3) examples of best practices or programs to prevent child 
        marriage in developing countries that could be replicated.

SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF STATE'S COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 
              PRACTICES.

    The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended--
            (1) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by adding at the end 
        the following new subsection:
    ``(g)(1) The report required by subsection (d) shall include for 
each country in which child marriage is prevalent at a rate at or above 
40 percent in at least one sub-national region of the country, a 
description of the status of the practice of child marriage in the 
country.
    ``(2) In this subsection, the term `child marriage' means the 
marriage of a girl or boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage 
stipulated in law in the country in which the girl or boy is a resident 
or, where there is no such law, under the age of 18.''; and
            (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304), by adding at the end 
        the following new subsection:
    ``(j)(1) The report required by subsection (b) shall include for 
each country in which child marriage is prevalent at a rate at or above 
40 percent in at least one sub-national region of the country, a 
description of the status of the practice of child marriage in the 
country.
    ``(2) In this subsection, the term `child marriage' means the 
marriage of a girl or boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage 
stipulated in law in the country in which the girl or boy is a resident 
or, where there is no such law, under the age of 18.''.

SEC. 5. CHILD MARRIAGE DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``child marriage'' means the marriage of a 
girl or boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in 
the country in which the girl or boy is a resident or, where there is 
no such law, under the age of 18.
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