,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dhfg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,january #ai1        
#bjah,mr4 ,rush introduced the following
 bill2 which was referred to the        
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to clarify the definitions of certain  
terms relating to marriage under        
,federal law to prevent child marriages1
 and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short    
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,child ,marriage ,prevention ,act4  #b4 
,findings ,congress finds the following3
  7#a7 ,a ,february #bjag study by      
,unchained ,at ,last found that1 between
 #bjjj and #bjaj1 #bdh1jjj children had 
been married in the ,united ,states1    
mostly to adult men4  7#b7 ,the ,united 
,states ,global ,strategy to ,empower   
,adolescent ,girls1 released last year  
by the ,state ,department recognizes    
marriage before #ah to be a human rights
 abuse4  7#c7 ,child marriages in the   
,united ,states have included parties as
 young as #aj4  7#d7 ,marriages in the  

,united ,states have given a semblance  
of legitimacy to relationships that     
would otherwise be illegal4  7#e7 ,women
 who marry at #ah or younger face a #bc 
percent higher risk of heart attack1    
diabetes1 cancer and stroke than do     
women who marry between ages #ai and    
#be4  7#f7 ,women who wed before #ah    
also are at increased risk of developing
 various psychiatric disorders4  7#g7   
,american girls who marry before #ai are
 #ej percent more likely than their     
unmarried peers to drop out of high     
school and four times less likely to    
graduate from college4  7#h7 ,a girl who
 marries young is #ca percentage points 
more likely to live in poverty when she 
is older4  7#i7 ,women who marry before 
#ah are three times more likely to be   
beaten by their spouses than women who  
wed at #ba or older4  #c4 ,powers       
reserved to the states ,no ,state shall 
be required to give effect to any public
 act1 record1 or judicial proceeding of 
any other ,state respecting a           

relationship where one or both persons  
are below the marriageable age that is  
treated as a marriage under the laws of 
such other ,state1 or a right or claim  
arising from such relationship4  #d4    
,definition of marriage ,in determining 
the meaning of any ,act of ,congress1 or
 of any ruling1 regulation1 or          
interpretation of the various           
administrative bureaus and agencies of  
the ,united ,states1 the word marriage  
means only a legal union between two    
people of marriageable age1 and the word
 spouse refers only to a person of      
marriageable age4  #e4 ,exceptions  7a7 
,section #c ,section #c shall be        
inapplicable to any marriage where the  
parties involved have received the      
approval of a judge appointed or elected
 pursuant to the laws of any ,state or  
the ,united ,states4  7b7 ,section #d   
,section #d shall be inapplicable to any
 marriage where the parties involved    
have received the approval of a judge   
appointed or elected pursuant to the    

laws of any ,state or the ,united       
,states4  7c7 ,independent ,counsel     
,subsections 7a7 and 7b7 shall only     
apply in cases where the minor in       
question was represented by independent 
counsel4  #f4 ,definitions ,in this     
,act3 7#a7 ,state ,the term ,state means
 each of the several ,states1 the       
,district of ,columbia1 the             
,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 ,guam1  
,american ,samoa1 the ,united ,states   
,virgin ,islands1 the ,commonwealth of  
the ,northern ,mariana ,islands1 any    
other territory or possession of the    
,united ,states1 and each federally     
recognized ,indian ,tribe4  7#b7        
,marriageable age ,the term marriageable
 age means the age of #ah or the age as 
defined by a ,state1 whichever is older4