[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 81 (Saturday, May 23, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3316-S3318]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GIRLS COUNT ACT OF 2015
Mr. ROUNDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 91, S. 802.
The PRESIDING OFFICER pro tempore. The clerk will report the bill by
title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 802) 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.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill,
which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations, with
an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Girls Count Act of 2015''.
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 Census Bureau's data also illustrates that young
people are the fastest growing segment of the population in
developing countries.
(3) Even though most countries do have birth registration
laws, four out of ten babies born in 2012 were not registered
worldwide. Moreover, an estimated 36 percent of children
under the age of five worldwide (about 230,000,000 children)
do not possess a birth certificate.
(4) A nationally recognized proof of birth system is
important to determining a child's citizenship, nationality,
place of birth, parentage, and age. Without such a system, a
passport, driver's license, or other identification card is
difficult to obtain. The lack of such documentation can
prevent girls and women 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 can exacerbate the
disproportionate vulnerability of women 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 are difficult to gauge.
(9) To help ensure that women and girls are considered in
United States foreign assistance policies and programs, that
their needs are addressed in the design, implementation, and
evaluation of foreign assistance programs, and that women and
girls have the opportunity to succeed, it is important that
girls 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 support the rule of law and
ensure girls and boys of all ages are able to fully
participate in society, including by providing birth
certifications and other official documentation;
(2) enhance training and capacity-building in key
developing countries, local nongovernmental organizations,
and other civil society organizations, including faith-based
organizations and organizations representing children and
families in the design, implementation, and monitoring of
programs under this Act, to effectively address the needs of
birth registries in countries where girls are systematically
undercounted; and
(3) incorporate into the design, implementation, and
evaluation of policies and programs measures to evaluate the
impact that such policies and programs 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 prioritize and advance ongoing efforts to--
(1) support programs that will contribute to improved and
sustainable Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems
(CRVS) with a focus on birth registration;
(2) support programs that build the capacity of developing
countries' national and local legal and policy frameworks to
prevent discrimination against girls in gaining access to
birth certificates, particularly where this may help prevent
exploitation, violence, and other abuse; and
(3) support programs and key ministries, including,
interior, youth, and education ministries, to help increase
property rights, social security, home ownership, land tenure
security, inheritance rights, access to education, and
economic and entrepreneurial opportunities, particularly for
women and girls.
(b) Coordination With Multilateral Organizations.--The
Secretary and the Administrator are authorized to coordinate
with the World Bank, relevant United Nations agencies and
programs, and other relevant organizations to encourage and
work with countries to enact, implement, and enforce laws
that specifically collect data on girls and establish
registration programs to ensure girls are appropriately
counted and have the opportunity to be active participants in
the social, legal, and political sectors of society in their
countries.
(c) Coordination With Private Sector and Civil Society
Organizations.--The Secretary and the Administrator are
authorized to work with the United States, international, and
local
[[Page S3318]]
private sector and civil society organizations to advocate
for the registration and documentation of all girls and boys
in developing countries, in order to help prevent
exploitation, violence, and other abuses and to help provide
economic and social opportunities.
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, a breakdown of United States
foreign assistance beneficiaries by age, gender, marital
status, location, and school enrollment status.
(2) A description, as appropriate, of how United States
foreign assistance benefits girls.
(3) Specific information, as appropriate, 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 five years after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
Mr. ROUNDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
committee-reported amendment be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be
read a third time and passed; and the motion to reconsider be
considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was
agreed to.
The bill (S. 802), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.
____________________