Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act

Summary: Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act - (Sec. 3) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) every individual, regardless of gender, should have the opportunity to pursue an education free from the fear of discrimination; (2) educational exchanges promote institutional linkages between the United States and Pakistan; and (3) recipients of scholarships under the Merit and Needs-Based Scholarship Program (Program) should commit to improving their local communities. (The Program awards scholarships for university study to academically talented, financially needy Pakistani students.) Encourages the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to continue to support Pakistani education initiatives, especially those for women. (Sec. 4) Directs the USAID Administrator to award at least 50% of the scholarships available under the Program to women for each of calendar years 2014-2016. Requires the scholarships to be awarded: (1) in accordance with existing scholarship criteria, and (2) for a range of disciplines to improve the employability of graduates and to meet the needs of the scholarship recipients.  Directs the USAID Administrator to: (1) make every effort to award 50% of the scholarships available under the Program to Pakistani women; and (2) consult with, and leverage investments by, the Pakistani private sector and Pakistani diaspora communities in the United States to improve, expand, and sustain education programs in Pakistan. (Sec. 5) Requires the USAID to brief Congress, annually for the next four years, on the implementation of this Act's requirements, including specified information regarding Program scholarships.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) On October 9, 2012, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the 
        head by Pakistani Taliban on her way home from school.
            (2) In late 2008, Malala began writing a blog for BBC Urdu 
        under a pseudonym pressing the case for access to education for 
        women and girls despite objections from the Pakistani Taliban.
            (3) Malala's advocacy for the education of women and girls 
        made her a target of the Taliban.
            (4) The Taliban called Malala's efforts to highlight the 
        need for education for women and girls an ``obscenity''.
            (5) On July 12, 2013, Malala celebrated her 16th birthday 
        by delivering a speech before the United Nations General 
        Assembly in which she said, ``So let us wage a glorious 
        struggle against illiteracy, poverty, and terrorism. Let us 
        pick up our books and our pens. They are the most powerful 
        weapons. One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can 
        change the world. Education is the only solution.''.
            (6) According to the United Nation's 2012 Education for All 
        Global Monitoring Report, ``Pakistan has the second largest 
        number of children out of school [in the world]'' and ``nearly 
        half of rural females have never been to school.''.
            (7) According to the World Bank, ``The benefits of women's 
        education go beyond higher productivity for 50 percent of the 
        population. More educated women also tend to be healthier, 
        participate more in the formal labor market, earn more income, 
        have fewer children, and provide better health care and 
        education to their children, all of which eventually improve 
        the well-being of all individuals and lift households out of 
        poverty. These benefits also transmit across generations, as 
        well as to their communities at large.''.
            (8) According to United Nation's 2012 Education For All 
        Global Monitoring Report, ``education can make a big difference 
        to women's earnings. In Pakistan, women with a high level of 
        literacy earned 95 percent more than women with no literacy 
        skills.''.
            (9) In January 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham 
        Clinton stated, ``We will open the doors of education to all 
        citizens, but especially to girls and women * * * We are doing 
        all of these things because we have seen that when women and 
        girls have the tools to stay healthy and the opportunity to 
        contribute to their families'' well-being, they flourish and so 
        do the people around them.
            (10) The United States provides critical foreign assistance 
        to Pakistan's education sector to improve access to and the 
        quality of basic and higher education.
            (11) The Merit and Needs-Based Scholarship Program 
        administered by the United States Agency for International 
        Development (USAID) awards scholarships to academically 
        talented, financially needy Pakistani students from all 
        regions, including remote areas of the country, to pursue 
        bachelor's or master's degrees at participating Pakistani 
        universities.
            (12) Fifty percent of the 974 Merit and Needs-Based 
        Scholarships awarded during fiscal year 2013 were awarded to 
        Pakistani women. Historically, only 25 percent of such 
        scholarships have been awarded to women. Starting in the fall 
        of 2013, USAID has committed to provide 50 percent of all 
        scholarships to women.
            (13) The United Nations declared July 12, 2013, as ``Malala 
        Day''--a global day of support for and recognition of Malala's 
        bravery and courage in promoting women's education.
            (14) On October 10, 2014, Malala Yousafzai became the co-
        recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her ``struggle against 
        the suppression of children and young people and for the right 
        of all children to education''.
            (15) On December 10, 2012, the United Nations and the 
        Government of Pakistan launched the ``Malala Fund for Girls' 
        Education'' to improve girls' access to education worldwide, 
        with Pakistan donating the first $10,000,000 to the Fund.
            (16) More than 1,000,000 people around the world have 
        signed the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education 
        petition calling on the Government of Pakistan to enroll every 
        boy and girl in primary school.
            (17) Pakistani civil society organizations collected almost 
        2,000,000 signatures from Pakistanis on a petition dedicated to 
        Malala's cause of education for all.
            (18) Engagement with Pakistani diaspora communities in the 
        United States, who have unique perspectives, access, and 
        opportunities to contribute to stability and economic growth in 
        Pakistan, will be a critical element of a successful United 
        States program to promote greater access to education for women 
        and girls.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) every individual should have the opportunity to pursue 
        an education;
            (2) every individual, regardless of gender, should have the 
        opportunity to pursue an education without fear of 
        discrimination;
            (3) educational exchanges promote institutional linkages 
        between the United States and Pakistan; and
            (4) recipients of scholarships referred to in section 4 
        should commit to improving their local communities.
    (b) Continued Support for Educational Initiatives in Pakistan.--
Congress encourages the Department of State and the United States 
Agency for International Development to continue their support for 
initiatives led by the Government of Pakistan and Pakistani civil 
society that promote education in Pakistan, especially education for 
women.

SEC. 4. MERIT AND NEEDS-BASED SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development (referred to in this Act as the ``USAID 
Administrator'') shall award at least 50 percent of the number of 
scholarships under the Merit and Needs-Based Scholarship Program 
(referred to in this Act as the ``Program'') to women for each of the 
calendar years 2014 through 2016.
    (b) Limitations.--
            (1) Criteria.--The scholarships available under subsection 
        (a) may only be awarded in accordance with other scholarship 
        eligibility criteria already established by USAID.
            (2) Academic disciplines.--Scholarships authorized under 
        subsection (a) shall be awarded for a range of disciplines to 
        improve the employability of graduates and to meet the needs of 
        the scholarship recipients.
            (3) Other scholarships.--The USAID Administrator shall make 
        every effort to award 50 percent of the scholarships available 
        under the Program to Pakistani women.
    (c) Leveraging Investment.--The USAID Administrator shall, to the 
greatest extent practicable, consult with and leverage investments by 
the Pakistani private sector and Pakistani diaspora communities in the 
United States as part of USAID's greater effort to improve the quality 
of, expand access to, and ensure sustainability of education programs 
in Pakistan.

SEC. 5. ANNUAL CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING.

    (a) In General.--The USAID Administrator shall designate 
appropriate USAID officials to brief the appropriate congressional 
committees, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act, and annually thereafter for the next 3 years, on the 
implementation of section 4.
    (b) Contents.--The briefing described in subsection (a) shall 
include, among other relevant information, for the most recently 
concluded fiscal year--
            (1) the total number of scholarships that were awarded 
        through the Program, including a breakdown by gender;
            (2) the disciplines of study chosen by the scholarship 
        recipients;
            (3) the percentage of the scholarships that were awarded to 
        students seeking a bachelor's degree or a master's degree, 
        respectively;
            (4) the percentage of scholarship recipients who 
        voluntarily dropped out of school or were involuntarily pushed 
        out of the program for failure to meet program requirements; 
        and
            (5) the percentage of scholarship recipients who dropped 
        out of school due to retaliation for seeking an education, to 
        the extent that such information is available.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 19, 2014.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.