[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 16028-16030]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        GIRLS COUNT ACT OF 2014

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 3398) 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, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3398

       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 ``Girls Count Act of 2014''.

     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 data also asserts that young people are the fastest 
     growing segment of the population in developing countries.
       (3) Even though most countries do have birth registration 
     laws, nearly one-third of all children under the age of 5 
     worldwide have never had their births registered. Moreover, 
     an estimated 45 percent of children under the age of 5 
     worldwide (about 290 million children) do not possess a birth 
     certificate.
       (4) A nationally recognized proof of birth is the key to 
     determining a child's citizenship, nationality, place of 
     birth, parentage and age, without which a passport, drivers 
     license, or national identification card are impossible to 
     obtain. Those who lack such documentation are often prevented 
     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 exacerbates their 
     disproportionate vulnerability 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 cannot be accurately 
     gauged.
       (9) To ensure that women and girls are fully integrated 
     into United States foreign assistance policies and programs, 
     that the specific needs of girls are, to the maximum extent 
     possible, addressed in the design, implementation, and 
     evaluation of development assistance programs, and that women 
     and girls have the power to affect the decisions that affect 
     their lives, all girls should 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 uphold the Universal Declaration 
     of Human Rights and enact laws that ensure girls and boys of 
     all ages are full participants in society, including 
     requiring birth certifications and some type of national 
     identity card to ensure that all citizens, including girls, 
     are counted;
       (2) enhance training and capacity-building to developing 
     countries, local nongovernmental organizations, and other 
     civil society organizations to effectively address the needs 
     of birth registries in countries where girls are 
     undercounted;
       (3) include organizations representing children and 
     families in the design, implementation, and monitoring of 
     programs under this Act; and
       (4) mainstream into the design, implementation, and 
     evaluation of policies and programs at all levels an 
     understanding of the distinctive impact that such policies 
     and programs may 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--
       (1) support programs that will contribute to improved and 
     sustainable Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems 
     (CRVS) with a focus on birth registration as the first and 
     most important life event to be registered;
       (2) promote programs that build the capacity of developing 
     countries' national and local legal and policy frameworks to 
     prevent discrimination against girls;
       (3) support programs to help increase property rights, 
     social security, and home ownership, land tenure security, 
     and inheritance rights for women; and
       (4) assist key ministries in the governments of developing 
     countries, including health, interior, youth, and education 
     ministries, to ensure that girls from poor households obtain 
     equitable access to social programs.
       (b) Coordination With Multilateral Organizations.--The 
     Secretary shall coordinate with the World Bank, relevant 
     United Nations agencies and programs, and other relevant 
     organizations to urge and work with countries to enact, 
     implement, and enforce laws that specifically collect data on 
     girls and establish registration and identification laws to 
     ensure girls are active participants in the social, economic, 
     legal and political sectors of society in their countries.
       (c) Coordination With Private Sector and Civil Society 
     Organizations.--The Secretary and the Administrator should 
     work with United States, international, and local private 
     sector and civil society organizations to advocate for the 
     registration and documentation of all girls and boys in 
     developing countries to prevent exploitation, violence, and 
     other abuses.

     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, United States foreign 
     assistance and development assistance beneficiaries by age, 
     gender, marital status, location, and school enrollment 
     status.
       (2) A description of how United States foreign assistance 
     and development assistance benefits girls.
       (3) Specific information 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 5 years after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act.

  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 New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and also to 
include any extraneous material for the Record on the bill.

[[Page 16029]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this measure. It is 
called the Girls Count Act, and I do want to thank Mr. Chabot of Ohio 
for his work on this important piece of legislation.
  Now, what this does is it aims to increase birth registration rates 
in developing countries. And usually the births which are not being 
registered are infant females.
  Nearly one-third of all children around the world have never had 
their births registered by their country's civil registries. Almost 
hard for us to recognize here--one-third.
  A child whose birth is not recorded has no birth certificate to prove 
her age or his age or parentage or citizenship, making these children 
especially vulnerable to violations of their basic rights.
  The lack of a birth certificate usually prevents individuals from 
acquiring essential pieces of identification that you are going to need 
in life--like a driver's license, like a passport--and can also impede 
any financial transaction you are going to make--taking out a loan, 
taking out a mortgage. Basically, these girls, tragically, don't count.
  For girls in particular, this lack of documentation can undercut 
existing legal protections against girls being trafficked or made child 
brides. And as they grow up, girls without an official identity face 
high barriers to work, high barriers to education or political 
participation, and all of this in places where we need women and girls 
to be actively shaping their country's future, to improve prospects for 
development, to oppose extremism in their communities.
  That is why I am pleased that the House is acting on H.R. 3398, 
because this bill supports efforts to increase birth registration by 
encouraging the State Department and USAID to work with countries on 
improving their civil registries.
  The bill promotes the development of laws and policies to prevent 
discrimination against girls and improve property and inheritance 
rights for women. And lastly, the legislation requires the State 
Department and USAID to provide more relevant breakdowns of foreign 
assistance whenever possible so that we can be sure women and girls are 
from benefiting from our efforts.
  So this bill complements other work that the House has done this 
Congress, particularly our efforts to combat child trafficking and to 
promote safe international adoptions. Ensuring that every boy and girl 
is counted can prevent children from being trafficked or prevent them 
from being exploited or denied a loving home.
  I am proud of the House's work thus far to address this critical 
issue. I believe that this bill in particular is another step in 
advancing this agenda, and that is why I would just like to recognize 
Mr. Chabot for all of the work he put into it and, as well, of course, 
to recognize Mr. Engel's contribution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume, 
and I rise in strong support of H.R. 3398, the Girls Count Act of 2014.
  Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank Representative 
Chabot and Representative McCollum for authoring this important 
legislation. It is very good legislation, it is very important 
legislation, and I am proud to be a part of it.
  Around the world, nearly 230 million children under the age of 5 have 
never had their birth registered or been issued a birth certificate. 
Most of these unregistered children are girls, and all of them face 
serious vulnerabilities.
  The lack of birth registration makes it much harder to get official 
documentation and, as a result, these children often become targets for 
child labor, abuse, human and sex trafficking, child marriage, 
recruitment into militant groups, and other forms of exploitation.
  Unregistered children are often prevented from access to health care, 
including necessary child immunizations, and from enrolling in school. 
Down the line, many of these children will be unable to inherit land or 
money, start a business, or even open a bank account.
  This sort of marginalization often hits women the hardest. 
Unregistered women are more likely to be confined to their homes and 
invisible to the outside world. Lack of registration limits their 
choices and opportunities and impedes the long-term development of 
their communities.
  H.R. 3398 will enhance efforts to get more children registered. It 
reaffirms our strong support for programs aimed at addressing the 
undercounting of girls in the developing world. It encourages countries 
to support programs that expand the rights of women, especially 
property ownership and Social Security rights.
  The legislation authorizes the Secretary of State and the 
Administrator of USAID to support important civil registration and 
vital statistics programs focusing on birth registration, and allows 
them to work with local government ministries to ensure equal access to 
these programs. This complements the work of organizations around the 
world that are engaged in the important work of protecting vulnerable 
children and puts pressure on other governments to act.
  While improving birth registration systems helps the most vulnerable 
populations, it has positive ripple effects across a whole society. 
Governments with better records can provide better services, tailor 
more effective policies, and bring more people into full participation 
in their economies. This basic practice can help make entire countries 
stronger.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important 
legislation. I, once again, thank Chairman Royce for his cooperation 
and bipartisanship.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), chairman of the Foreign Affairs 
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and the author of this particular 
bill.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Royce for his 
leadership on this important issue, and I also want to thank my friends 
and colleagues, Mr. Engel and Ms. McCollum, for their leadership and 
their support as well.
  Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that we are living in challenging times. 
The international community is having to confront new evils it seems 
like every day. It is critical that we confront these evils with 
determination and resolve and intelligence. This bill, the one before 
us today, really actually does this.
  With this bill, Congress has the opportunity to address an injustice 
that is holding girls back from fully participating in society but, 
worse, exposing them to the particularly horrific evils of human 
trafficking.
  There are 230 million children around the globe under the age of 5 
who have never been recognized as being born. Their births were simply 
never recorded.
  In eastern and southern Africa, for example, only 38 percent of 
children are registered by their fifth birthday. So think of that; 
nearly two-thirds of the children born in those regions in Africa are 
not registered. There is no recording of their birth. They, in essence, 
don't exist to the government.
  These children, a majority of whom are girls, become invisible 
members of society and miss a critical first step in securing their 
fundamental human rights. Being recognized by your government is 
necessary, for example, for determining identity and citizenship and 
age and obtaining access to education and health care and many other 
things.
  When a girl is not counted at birth, it is difficult, if not 
impossible, for her to own land or start her own business or vote, and 
she is at risk of being confined to home and, oftentimes, left unpaid.
  Lack of a birth certificate keeps girls from fully participating in 
society. It increases the risk of child marriage, forced labor, 
recruitment into militant groups, human trafficking, and sexual 
exploitation.

[[Page 16030]]

  The Girls Count Act would help put an end to these horrors. The bill 
directs the Department of State and USAID to work with our 
international partners to support the issuance of birth certificates in 
developing countries. The bill will ensure that the most important step 
in a new citizen's life, the registration and recognition of their very 
birth by their government, actually occurs.
  Mr. Speaker, the lack of a birth certificate denies children their 
fundamental human rights that we as Americans oftentimes take for 
granted. This bill would make it U.S. policy to encourage the 
registration of all children worldwide and make sure that girls do 
truly count.
  With that, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  I want to once again thank Mr. Royce and Mr. Engel for their support 
and leadership in this.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to again thank the chairman and thank Mr. Chabot.
  Getting children registered at birth helps to get them off to a good 
start. This bill encourages governments to enact laws and policies that 
give all children, including girls, a chance to be full participants in 
society. So I strongly support this bill and urge my colleagues to do 
so as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1545

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, before I close, I would like to also mention 
the contributions of Congresswoman Betty McCollum and Congressman Chris 
Smith.
  Chris Smith is the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on 
Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International 
Organizations. He is also an original cosponsor of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I want to thank the distinguished chairman 
for yielding and for his leadership in helping to bring this 
legislation to the floor, and especially Chairman Chabot for his Girls 
Count Act of 2013. I am happy and thankful to be an original cosponsor 
and to urge the House to vote for it.
  Mr. Speaker, in many parts of the world, girls are discriminated 
against simply for being female. Indeed, this blatant disregard for the 
value of the girl child often begins in the womb, especially in 
countries such as China and India, where we see the horrific practice 
of sex-selection abortion. This cruel practice, in turn, has led to a 
gender imbalance that has fed other crimes against women, especially 
sex trafficking, which has risen exponentially in the People's Republic 
of China because of the missing daughters, because of this 
discrimination against the girl child in utero.
  Let me point out that, in her book, ``Unnatural Selection: Choosing 
Boys over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men,'' Mara 
Hvistendahl traces the history of sex selection to population control. 
Again, we don't count the girl as being of meaning. Of course, this is 
talking about a physical count, so we have a record of these young 
ladies, of these young girls, but there are consequences, again, that 
continue throughout the life or the lack of because she is destroyed 
early on.
  Hvistendahl writes--and I will only mention this briefly--that there 
are over 160 million missing girls in Asia--in China, mostly, and in 
India. It is a direct result of sex-selection abortion, and that 
discrimination of the girl child has profound implications for the 
region and for the world and, of course, for all of those girls who 
have lost their lives.
  Again, I want to thank Mr. Chabot for this important legislation and 
Betty McCollum. This is a very important step forward in making sure we 
know where the girls are after being counted so they can fully 
participate in society.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I will close now, and I will urge my 
colleagues to vote for this important bill.
  I thank the chairman, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Smith, and Ms. McCollum.
  This is a bipartisan, important piece of legislation, and I urge my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  The point I would make in closing is that, in the wake of the horrors 
we have seen perpetrated by ISIS against women and Boko Haram against 
schoolgirls--kidnapping and enslaving them and robbing them of their 
freedom--we had one of these girls testify before our committee. She 
had narrowly escaped Boko Haram but lost her mother and her father.
  I know so many of us are deeply concerned about the plight of women 
and girls around the world, and this bill recognizes the suffering and 
aims to empower those who have been cast into the shadows of their 
society. Birth registration is one of the first steps in the fight to 
preserve an individual's basic rights under the law. It is also a 
critical means to ensuring the full participation of women and of girls 
in communities and schools. Let's help girls count. That is what this 
does.
  Again, I want to thank Mr. Chabot and Betty McCollum and Mr. Chris 
Smith of New Jersey, as well, for their leadership on this measure, 
which I encourage all Members to support.
  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, H.R. 3398, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________