[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.

                          ____________________