[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 202 (Friday, December 21, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H10547-H10548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    PROTECTING GIRLS' ACCESS TO EDUCATION IN VULNERABLE SETTINGS ACT

  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (S. 1580) to enhance the transparency, improve the 
coordination, and intensify the impact of assistance to support access 
to primary and secondary education for displaced children and persons, 
including women and girls, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows

                                S. 1580

       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 ``Protecting Girls' Access to 
     Education in Vulnerable Settings Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) As of June 2018, more than 68,000,000 people have been 
     displaced by disasters and conflicts around the world, the 
     highest number recorded since the end of World War II, of 
     which more than 25,000,000 people are refugees.
       (2) More than half of the population of refugees are 
     children and, according to the United Nations High 
     Commissioner for Refugees, nearly 4,000,000 school-aged 
     refugee children lack access to primary education.
       (3) Education offers socioeconomic opportunities, 
     psychological stability, and physical protection for 
     displaced people, particularly for women and girls, who might 
     otherwise be vulnerable to severe forms of trafficking in 
     persons (as such term is defined in section 103(9) of the 
     Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 
     7102(9)), child marriage, sexual exploitation, or economic 
     disenfranchisement.
       (4) Displaced children face considerable barriers to 
     accessing educational services and, because the duration of 
     such displacement is, on average, 26 years, such children may 
     spend the entirety of their childhood without access to such 
     services.
       (5) Despite the rising need for educational services, as of 
     2016, less than two percent of humanitarian aid was directed 
     toward educational services.

     SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) it is critical to ensure that children, particularly 
     girls, displaced by conflicts overseas are able to access 
     educational services because such access can combat extremism 
     and reduce exploitation and poverty; and
       (2) the educational needs of vulnerable women and girls 
     should be considered in the design, implementation, and 
     evaluation of related United States foreign assistance 
     policies and programs.

     SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

       It is the policy of the United States to--
       (1) partner with and encourage other countries, public and 
     private multilateral institutions, and nongovernmental and 
     civil society organizations, including faith-based 
     organizations and organizations representing parents and 
     children, to support efforts to ensure that displaced 
     children have access to safe primary and secondary education;
       (2) work with donors to enhance training and capacity-
     building for the governments of countries hosting significant 
     numbers of displaced people to design, implement, and monitor 
     programs to effectively address barriers to such education; 
     and
       (3) coordinate with the governments of countries hosting 
     significant numbers of displaced people to--
       (A) promote the inclusion of displaced children into the 
     educational systems of such countries; and
       (B) in circumstances in which such inclusion is difficult, 
     develop innovative approaches to providing safe primary and 
     secondary educational opportunities, such as encouraging 
     schools to permit children to be educated by extending the 
     hours of schooling or expanding the number of teachers.

     SEC. 5. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT EDUCATIONAL 
                   SERVICES FOR DISPLACED CHILDREN.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of State and the 
     Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
     Development are authorized to prioritize and advance ongoing 
     efforts to support programs that--
       (1) provide safe primary and secondary education for 
     displaced children;
       (2) build the capacity of institutions in countries hosting 
     displaced people to prevent discrimination against displaced 
     children, especially displaced girls, who seek access to such 
     education; and
       (3) help increase the access of displaced children, 
     especially displaced girls, to educational, economic, and 
     entrepreneurial opportunities, including through the 
     governmental authorities responsible for educational or youth 
     services in such host countries.
       (b) Coordination With Multilateral Organizations.--The 
     Secretary and the Administrator are authorized to coordinate 
     with the World Bank, appropriate agencies of the United 
     Nations, and other relevant multilateral organizations to 
     work with governments in other countries to collect relevant 
     data, disaggregated by age and gender, on the ability of 
     displaced people to access education and participate in 
     economic activity, in order to improve the targeting, 
     monitoring, and evaluation of related assistance efforts.
       (c) Coordination With Private Sector and Civil Society 
     Organizations.--The Secretary and the Administrator are 
     authorized to work with private sector and civil society 
     organizations to promote safe primary and secondary education 
     for displaced children.

[[Page H10548]]

  


     SEC. 6. REPORT.

       The Secretary and the Administrator shall include in the 
     report required under section 7 of the READ Act (division A 
     of Public Law 115-56; 22 U.S.C. 2151c note) a description of 
     any primary or secondary educational services supported by 
     programs for natural or manmade disaster relief or response 
     that specifically address the needs of displaced girls.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1580, Protecting Girls' Access to Education in 
Vulnerable Settings Act, passed the Senate unanimously. It is the 
Senate version of H.R. 2408, which this body passed last October.
  Again, this is a very important bipartisan, bicameral bill that will 
prioritize ongoing efforts to promote access to education for refugee 
children, especially girls. It deserves our unanimous support.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this measure. The Protecting 
Girls' Access to Education Act is a good bill that works to improve 
access for education for displaced children, especially girls. This 
bipartisan bill is the Senate version of H.R. 2408, which passed the 
House by voice vote in October of 2017.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join me supporting it, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 1580.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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