I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4867 

To clarify the definitions of certain terms relating to marriage under Federal 

law to prevent child marriages, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 19, 2018 

Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; 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 marriages, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Marriage Pre5 vention Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) A February 2017 study by Unchained At 

9 Last found that, between 2000 and 2010, 248,000 


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1 children had been married in the United States, 

2 mostly to adult men. 

3 (2) The United States Global Strategy to Em4 power Adolescent Girls, released last year by the 

5 State Department recognizes marriage before 18 to 

6 be a ‘‘human rights abuse’’. 

7 (3) Child marriages in the United States have 

8 included parties as young as 10. 

9 (4) Marriages in the United States have given 

10 a semblance of legitimacy to relationships that would 

11 otherwise be illegal. 

12 (5) Women who marry at 18 or younger face a 

13 23 percent higher risk of heart attack, diabetes, can14 cer and stroke than do women who marry between 

15 ages 19 and 25. 

16 (6) Women who wed before 18 also are at in17 creased risk of developing various psychiatric dis18 orders. 

19 (7) American girls who marry before 19 are 50 

20 percent more likely than their unmarried peers to 

21 drop out of high school and four times less likely to 

22 graduate from college. 

23 (8) A girl who marries young is 31 percentage 

24 points more likely to live in poverty when she is 

25 older. 


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1 (9) Women who marry before 18 are three 

2 times more likely to be beaten by their spouses than 

3 women who wed at 21 or older. 

4 SEC. 3. POWERS RESERVED TO THE STATES. 

5 No State shall be required to give effect to any public 

6 act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State re7 specting a relationship where one or both persons are 

8 below the marriageable age that is treated as a marriage 

9 under the laws of such other State, or a right or claim 

10 arising from such relationship. 

11 SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE. 

12 In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, 

13 or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the var14 ious administrative bureaus and agencies of the United 

15 States, the word ‘‘marriage’’ means only a legal union be16 tween two people of marriageable age, and the word 

17 ‘‘spouse’’ refers only to a person of marriageable age. 

18 SEC. 5. EXCEPTIONS. 

19 (a) SECTION 3.—Section 3 shall be inapplicable to 

20 any marriage where the parties involved have received the 

21 approval of a judge appointed or elected pursuant to the 

22 laws of any State or the United States. 

23 (b) SECTION 4.—Section 4 shall be inapplicable to 

24 any marriage where the parties involved have received the 


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1 approval of a judge appointed or elected pursuant to the 

2 laws of any State or the United States. 

3 (c) INDEPENDENT COUNSEL.—Subsections (a) and 

4 (b) shall only apply in cases where the minor in question 

5 was represented by independent counsel. 

6 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

9 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

10 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 

11 Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Com12 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, any 

13 other territory or possession of the United States, 

14 and each federally recognized Indian Tribe. 

15 (2) MARRIAGEABLE AGE.—The term ‘‘mar16 riageable age’’ means the age of 18 or the age as 

17 defined by a State, whichever is older. 

Æ 


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