Girls Count Act of 2015

Summary: (This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the Senate on May 21, 2015.  Girls Count Act of 2015 (Sec. 3) This bill states that it is U.S. policy to:   encourage countries to support the rule of law and ensure girls and boys of all ages are able to fully participate in society, including by providing birth certifications and other official documentation;  enhance training and capacity-building in key developing countries, local nongovernmental organizations, and other civil society organizations in the design, implementation, and monitoring of programs to address the needs of birth registries in countries where girls are systematically under counted; and  incorporate into the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies and programs measures to evaluate the impact on girls of such policies and programs.   (Sec. 4) Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development to support:   programs that contribute to improved civil registration and vital statistics systems with a focus on birth registration;  programs that build the capacity of developing countries' national and local legal and policy frameworks to prevent discrimination against girls in gaining access to birth certificates; and  programs and key ministries to increase property rights, social security, home ownership, land tenure security, inheritance rights, access to education, and economic and entrepreneurial opportunities, particularly for women and girls.  Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator to coordinate with multilateral organizations and private sector and civil society organizations to advocate for the registration and documentation of all girls and boys in developing countries. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary and the Administrator to include in relevant evaluations and reports to Congress the following information:   a breakdown of U.S. foreign assistance beneficiaries by age, gender, marital status, location, and school enrollment status;  a description of how U.S. foreign assistance benefits girls; and  specific information on programs that address the particular needs of girls.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Girls Count Act of 2015''.
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 Census Bureau's data also illustrates that young people 
    are the fastest growing segment of the population in developing 
    countries.
        (3) Even though most countries do have birth registration laws, 
    four out of ten babies born in 2012 were not registered worldwide. 
    Moreover, an estimated 36 percent of children under the age of five 
    worldwide (about 230,000,000 children) do not possess a birth 
    certificate.
        (4) A nationally recognized proof of birth system is important 
    to determining a child's citizenship, nationality, place of birth, 
    parentage, and age. Without such a system, a passport, driver's 
    license, or other identification card is difficult to obtain. The 
    lack of such documentation can prevent girls and women 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 can exacerbate the disproportionate 
    vulnerability of women 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 are difficult to gauge.
        (9) To help ensure that women and girls are considered in 
    United States foreign assistance policies and programs, that their 
    needs are addressed in the design, implementation, and evaluation 
    of foreign assistance programs, and that women and girls have the 
    opportunity to succeed, it is important that girls 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 support the rule of law and ensure 
    girls and boys of all ages are able to fully participate in 
    society, including by providing birth certifications and other 
    official documentation;
        (2) enhance training and capacity-building in key developing 
    countries, local nongovernmental organizations, and other civil 
    society organizations, including faith-based organizations and 
    organizations representing children and families in the design, 
    implementation, and monitoring of programs under this Act, to 
    effectively address the needs of birth registries in countries 
    where girls are systematically undercounted; and
        (3) incorporate into the design, implementation, and evaluation 
    of policies and programs measures to evaluate the impact that such 
    policies and programs 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 prioritize and advance ongoing efforts to--
        (1) support programs that will contribute to improved and 
    sustainable Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems (CRVS) 
    with a focus on birth registration;
        (2) support programs that build the capacity of developing 
    countries' national and local legal and policy frameworks to 
    prevent discrimination against girls in gaining access to birth 
    certificates, particularly where this may help prevent 
    exploitation, violence, and other abuse; and
        (3) support programs and key ministries, including, interior, 
    youth, and education ministries, to help increase property rights, 
    social security, home ownership, land tenure security, inheritance 
    rights, access to education, and economic and entrepreneurial 
    opportunities, particularly for women and girls.
    (b) Coordination With Multilateral Organizations.--The Secretary 
and the Administrator are authorized to coordinate with the World Bank, 
relevant United Nations agencies and programs, and other relevant 
organizations to encourage and work with countries to enact, implement, 
and enforce laws that specifically collect data on girls and establish 
registration programs to ensure girls are appropriately counted and 
have the opportunity to be active participants in the social, legal, 
and political sectors of society in their countries.
    (c) Coordination With Private Sector and Civil Society 
Organizations.--The Secretary and the Administrator are authorized to 
work with the 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, in order 
to help prevent exploitation, violence, and other abuses and to help 
provide economic and social opportunities.
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, a breakdown of United States 
    foreign assistance beneficiaries by age, gender, marital status, 
    location, and school enrollment status.
        (2) A description, as appropriate, of how United States foreign 
    assistance benefits girls.
        (3) Specific information, as appropriate, 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 five years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.