[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2591 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2591
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 10, 2014
Mr. Rubio (for himself and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
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 2014
international figures, 1 person in 8--or 12 percent of the
total population of the world--is a girl or young woman age 10
through 24.
(2) The Census Bureau's data also asserts that young people
are the fastest growing segment of the population in developing
countries.
(3) Even though most countries have birth registration
laws, every year 51,000,000 children under age 5 are not
registered at birth, most of whom are girls.
(4) A nationally recognized proof of birth system is the
key to determining a child's citizenship, nationality, place of
birth, parentage, and age. Without such a system, a passport,
drivers license, or national identification card is extremely
difficult to obtain. The lack of such documentation prevents
girls and women from officially participating in and
benefitting from the formal economic, legal, and political
sectors in their countries.
(5) Without the ability to gain employment and
identification necessary to officially participate in these
sectors, women and girls are confined to the home and remain
unpaid and often-invisible members of society.
(6) 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.
(7) 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.
(8) 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 effect 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 in 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) incorporate 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, 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
and the Administrator 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 all relevant
congressionally mandated reports and documents the following
information:
(1) To the extent possible, United States foreign
assistance and development assistance beneficiaries by age,
gender, marital status, location, and school enrollment status
in all programs and sectors.
(2) A description of how United States foreign assistance
and development assistance benefits girls.
(3) Information on programs that address the particular
needs of girls.
SEC. 6. OFFSET.
Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for United States
foreign assistance programs of a Federal department or agency that
administers such programs for a fiscal year, up to 5 percent of such
amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act for
such fiscal year.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development.
(2) Development assistance.--The term ``development
assistance'' means--
(A) assistance under--
(i) chapter 1 of part 1 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et
seq.);
(ii) the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003
(22 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.);
(iii) the United States Leadership Against
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003
(22 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.);
(iv) title V of the International Security
and Development Cooperation Act of 1980 (22
U.S.C. 290h et seq.; relating to the African
Development Foundation); and
(v) section 401 of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1969 (22 U.S.C. 290f; relating to the
Inter-American Foundation);
(B) official development assistance under any
provision of law; and
(C) reconstruction assistance under any provision
of law.
(3) Foreign assistance.--The term ``foreign assistance''
means any tangible or intangible item provided by the United
States Government to a foreign country or international
organization under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or any other Act, including any training,
service, or technical advice, any item of real, personal, or
mixed property, any agricultural commodity, any gift, loan,
sale, credit, guarantee, or export subsidy, United States
dollars, and any currencies of any foreign country which are
owned by the United States Government.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of State.
SEC. 8. SUNSET.
This Act shall expire on the date that is 5 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
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