S. 2591 — Introduced in Senate

II 113th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2591 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. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Girls Count Act of 2014. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 8. Sunset This Act shall expire on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.