[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 127 (Friday, August 3, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10906-S10908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Hagel, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. 
        Clinton, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. Johnson):
  S. 1998. A bill to reduce child marriage, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1998

       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 Child Marriage 
     Prevention and Protection Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Research shows that child marriage in developing 
     nations is often associated with adverse economic and social 
     consequences and is dangerous to the health, security, and 
     well-being of girls and detrimental to the economic 
     development of communities.
       (2) The issue of child marriage is interwoven with broader 
     social and cultural issues and is most effectively addressed 
     as a development challenge through integrated, community-
     based approaches to promote and support girls' education and 
     skill-building and healthcare, legal rights, and awareness 
     for girls and women.
       (3) As Charlotte Ponticelli, Senior Coordinator for 
     International Women's Issues for the Department of State, 
     stated on September 14, 2005: ``It is unconscionable that in

[[Page S10907]]

     the 21st century girls as young as 7 or 8 can be sold as 
     brides. There is no denying that extreme poverty is the 
     driving factor that has enabled the practice to continue, 
     even in countries where it has been outlawed . . . We need to 
     be shining the spotlight on early marriage and its underlying 
     causes . . . We must continue to do everything we can to 
     ensure that girls have every opportunity to become agents of 
     change and to expand the `realm of what is possible' for 
     their societies and the world at large.''
       (4) The severity of the adverse impact of child marriage 
     increases as the age at marriage and first childbirth 
     decreases.
       (5) A Department of State survey in 2005 found that child 
     marriage was a concern in 64 out of 182 countries surveyed 
     and that the practice is especially acute in sub-Saharan 
     Africa and South Asia.
       (6) According to the United Nations Children's Fund, in 
     Ethiopia and in parts of West Africa marriage at the age of 7 
     or 8 is not uncommon.
       (7) In developing countries, girls aged 10 to 14 who become 
     pregnant are 5 times more likely to die in pregnancy or 
     childbirth than women aged 20 to 24.
       (8) Girls in sub-Saharan Africa are at much higher risk of 
     suffering obstetric fistula.
       (9) According to the Department of State: ``Pregnancy at an 
     early age often leads to obstetric fistulae and permanent 
     incontinence. In Ethiopia, treatment is available at only 1 
     hospital in Addis Ababa that performs over 1,000 fistula 
     operations a year. It estimates that for every successful 
     operation performed, 10 other young women need the treatment. 
     The maternal mortality rate is extremely high due, in part, 
     to food taboos for pregnant women, poverty, early marriage, 
     and birth complications related to FGM [Female Genital 
     Mutilation], especially infibulation.''.
       (10) Adolescents are at greater risk of complications 
     during childbirth that can lead to fistula because they have 
     less access to health care and are subject to other 
     significant risk factors related to the mother's physical 
     immaturity.
       (11) In nearly every case of obstetric fistula, the baby 
     will be stillborn.
       (12) The physical symptoms of obstetric fistula include 
     incontinence or constant uncontrollable leaking of urine or 
     feces, frequent bladder infections, infertility, and foul 
     odor. The condition often leads to the desertion of fistula 
     sufferers by husbands and family members and extreme social 
     stigma.
       (13) Although data on obstetric fistula are scarce, the 
     World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are more 
     than 2,000,000 women living with fistula and 50,000 to 
     100,000 new cases each year. These figures are based on the 
     number of women who seek medical care. Many more suffer from 
     the disabling condition.
       (14) Adolescent girls are more susceptible than mature 
     women to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, due 
     to both biological and social factors.
       (15) Research in several countries with high rates of HIV 
     infection indicates that married girls are at greater risk 
     for HIV than their unmarried peers.
       (16) Child marriage can have additional long-term 
     consequences when combined with female genital cutting 
     because the girls who have undergone that procedure can 
     experience greater complications during pregnancy, leading to 
     lasting health problems for themselves and their children.
       (17) Child marriage is a leading barrier to girls' 
     education in certain developing countries.
       (18) A high incidence of child marriage undermines the 
     efforts of developing countries and donor countries, 
     including the United States, to promote economic and social 
     development.
       (19) The causes of child marriage include poverty, custom, 
     and the desire to protect girls from violence or premarital 
     sexual relations.
       (20) Child marriage may also be a product of gender 
     violence in which a man abducts and rapes a girl and then, 
     sometimes through negotiations with traditional leaders, 
     negotiates a settlement with the girl's parents, including 
     marriage to the victim.
       (21) The practice of child marriage is considered a 
     ``harmful traditional practice'' by the United Nations 
     Children's Fund.
       (22) The Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for 
     Marriage, and Registration of Marriages, adopted at the 
     United Nations, December 10, 1962, requires the parties to 
     the Convention to overcome all ``customs, ancient laws, and 
     practices by ensuring complete freedom in the choice of a 
     spouse, eliminating completely child marriages and the 
     betrothal of young girls before the age of puberty''.
       (23) The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the 
     Child, which entered into force in 1990, provides that 
     ``child marriage and the betrothal of girls and boys shall be 
     prohibited and effective action, including legislation, shall 
     be taken to specify the minimum age of marriage to be 
     eighteen years''.
       (24) In Ethiopia, Girls' Activity Committees, community-
     based groups formed to support girls in school and advocate 
     for girls' education, have conducted community awareness and 
     informational campaigns, enlisted the assistance of 
     traditional clan and religious leaders, discouraged families 
     from practicing child marriage, encouraged girls' school 
     attendance, and taken steps to reduce gender-based violence 
     and create safer environments for girls en route to or from 
     school and in the classroom.
       (25) Recognizing the importance of the issue and the 
     effects of child marriage, the Senior Coordinator for 
     International Women's Issues of the Department of State 
     initiated an effort in 2005 to collect and assess information 
     on the incidence of child marriage and on the existence and 
     effectiveness of initiatives funded by the United States to 
     reduce the incidence of child marriage or the negative 
     effects of child marriage and to measure the need for 
     additional programs.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of the Agency.
       (2) Agency.--Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the 
     term ``Agency'' means the United States Agency for 
     International Development.
       (3) Child marriage.--The term ``child marriage'' means the 
     legal or traditional marriage of a girl or boy who has not 
     yet reached the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in 
     the country of which they are a citizen.
       (4) Developing nation.--The term ``developing nation'' 
     means any nation eligible to receive assistance from the 
     International Development Association or the International 
     Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
       (5) HIV.--The term ``HIV'' has the meaning given that term 
     in section 3 of the United States Leadership Against HIV/
     AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7602).
       (6) HIV/AIDS.--The term ``HIV/AIDS'' has the meaning given 
     that term in section 3 of the United States Leadership 
     Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 
     U.S.C. 7602).
       (7) Obstetric fistula.--The term ``obstetric fistula'' 
     means a rupture or hole in tissues surrounding the vagina, 
     bladder, or rectum that occurs during prolonged, obstructed 
     childbirth.
       (8) Relevant executive branch agencies.--The term 
     ``relevant executive branch agencies'' means the Department 
     of State, the Agency, the Department of Health and Human 
     Services, and any other department or agency of the United 
     States, including the Millennium Challenge Corporation, that 
     is involved in implementing international health or 
     development policies and programs of the United States.
       (9) Secretary.--Except as otherwise provided in this Act, 
     the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of State.

     SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the untapped economic and educational potential of 
     girls and women in many developing nations represent an 
     enormous loss to those societies;
       (2) expanding educational opportunities for girls and 
     economic opportunities for women and reducing maternal and 
     child mortality are critical to the achievement of 
     internationally recognized health and development goals and 
     of many global health and development objectives of the 
     United States, including efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS;
       (3) since child marriage is a leading barrier to the 
     continuation of girl's education in many developing 
     countries, it is important to integrate this issue into new 
     and existing United States-funded efforts to promote 
     education, strengthen legal rights and legal awareness, 
     reduce gender-based violence, and promote skill-building and 
     economic opportunities for girls and young women in regions 
     with a high incidence of child marriage; and
       (4) effective community-based efforts to reduce and move 
     toward the elimination of child marriage as part of an 
     integrated strategy to promote girls' education and 
     empowerment will yield long-term dividends in the health and 
     economic sectors in developing countries.

     SEC. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF CHILD MARRIAGE PREVENTION STRATEGY.

       (a) Requirements for Strategy.--The Secretary shall develop 
     a comprehensive strategy, taking into account the work of the 
     relevant executive branch agencies, to reduce the incidences 
     of child marriage around the world by further integrating 
     this issue into existing and planned relevant United States 
     development efforts.
       (b) Report on Strategy.--
       (1) Requirement for report.--Not later than 180 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 
     to Congress a report on the strategy described in subsection 
     (a), including a discussion of the elements described in 
     paragraph (2).
       (2) Report elements.--The elements referred to in paragraph 
     (1) are the following:
       (A) A description of existing or potential approaches to 
     prevent child marriage and address the vulnerabilities of 
     populations who may be at risk of child marriage.
       (B) A description of programs funded by the United States 
     that address child marriage, and an assessment of the impact 
     of such programs in the areas of health, education, and 
     access to economic opportunities, including microfinance 
     programs.
       (C) A description of programs funded by the United States 
     that are intended to prevent obstetric fistula.
       (D) A description of programs funded by the United States 
     that support the surgical treatment of obstetric fistula.
       (E) A description of the impact of child marriage on the 
     United States efforts to assist in achieving the goals set 
     out in the

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     United Nations Millennium Declaration adopted by the United 
     Nations General Assembly on September 8, 2000 (resolution 55/
     2), including specifically the impact on efforts to--
       (i) eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary 
     education;
       (ii) reduce child mortality;
       (iii) improve maternal health; and
       (iv) combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other 
     disease.
       (F) A description of the impact of child marriage on 
     achieving the purposes set out in section 602 of the 
     Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701).
       (G) A description of how the issue of child marriage can 
     best be integrated into existing or planned United States 
     programs to promote girls' education and skill-building, 
     healthcare, legal rights and awareness, and other relevant 
     programs in developing nations.
       (c) Report on Child Marriage.--Not later than 2 years after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 
     consultation with other appropriate officials, shall submit 
     to the Committees on Foreign Relations and Appropriations of 
     the Senate and the Committees on Foreign Affairs and 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives a report that 
     describes--
       (1) United States assistance programs that address child 
     marriage;
       (2) the impact of child marriage on maternal mortality and 
     morbidity and on infant mortality in countries in which child 
     marriage is prevalent;
       (3) the projected effect of such programs on increasing the 
     age of marriage, reducing maternal mortality and morbidity, 
     reducing the incidence of obstetric fistula, reducing the 
     incidence of domestic violence, increasing girls' access to 
     and completion of primary and secondary education, reducing 
     the incidence of early childbearing, and reducing HIV 
     infection rates among married and unmarried adolescents;
       (4) the scale and scope of the practice of child marriage 
     in developing nations; and
       (5) the status of efforts by the government of each 
     developing nation with a high incidence of child marriage to 
     eliminate such practices.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE TO REDUCE INCIDENCES OF 
                   CHILDHOOD MARRIAGE AND OBSTETRIC FISTULA.

       The President is authorized to provide assistance, 
     including through international, nongovernmental, or faith-
     based organizations or through direct assistance to a 
     recipient country, for programs to reduce the incidences of 
     child marriage and promote the empowerment of girls and young 
     woman. Such assistance may include--
       (1) improving the access of girls and young women in 
     developing nations to primary and secondary education and 
     vocational training;
       (2) supporting community education activities to educate 
     parents, community leaders, and adolescents of the health 
     risks associated with child marriage and the benefits for 
     adolescents, especially girls, of access to education, health 
     care, employment, microfinance, and savings programs;
       (3) supporting community-based organizations in encouraging 
     the prevention or delay of child marriage and its replacement 
     with other non-harmful rites of passage;
       (4) increasing access of women to economic opportunities, 
     including microfinance and small enterprise development;
       (5) supporting efforts to prevent gender-based violence;
       (6) improving access of adolescents to adequate health 
     care;
       (7) supporting programs to promote educational and economic 
     opportunities and access to health care for adolescents who 
     are already married;
       (8) supporting the surgical repair of fistula, including 
     the creation or expansion of centers for the treatment of 
     fistula in countries with high rates of fistula, and the 
     care, support, and transportation of persons in need of such 
     surgery; and
       (9) supporting efforts to reduce incidences of fistula, 
     including programs to increase access to skilled birth 
     attendants, and to promote access to family planning where 
     desired by local communities.

     SEC. 7. RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION.

       The Secretary shall work through the Agency and any other 
     relevant agencies of the Department of State, and in 
     conjunction with relevant executive branch agencies as part 
     of their ongoing research and data collection activities, 
     to--
       (1) collect and make available data on the incidence of 
     child marriage in countries that receive foreign or 
     development assistance from the United States where the 
     practice of child marriage is prevalent; and
       (2) collect and make available data on the impact of the 
     incidence of child marriage and the age at marriage on 
     progress in meeting key development goals.

     SEC. 8. HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT.

       The Secretary shall include in the Department of State's 
     Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices a section 
     for each country where child marriage is prevalent, outlining 
     the status of the practice of child marriage in that country.

     SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND OTHER FUNDING.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the 
     provisions of this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, 
     in addition to funds otherwise available for such purposes, 
     amounts as follows:
       (1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2008.
       (2) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2009.
       (3) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.
                                 ______