IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 54 
Affirming the role of the United States in improving access to quality, 
inclusive public education and improving learning outcomes for children 
and adolescents, particularly for girls, around the world. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 24, 2023 
Ms. MENG (for herself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BERA, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, 
Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. BROWN, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. CASE, Ms. 
CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CROW, Mr. 
DESAULNIER, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. EVANS, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Flor-
ida, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HIMES, 
Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. 
KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LIEU, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 
MORELLE, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 
PETERS, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. ROSS, Mr. RUIZ, Ms. SALAZAR, 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. 
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs 
RESOLUTION 
Affirming the role of the United States in improving access 
to quality, inclusive public education and improving 
learning outcomes for children and adolescents, particu-
larly for girls, around the world. 
Whereas the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 
January 24 as the International Day of Education, in 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:23 Jan 25, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR54.IH
HR54
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 54 IH 
celebration of the role of education for peace and develop-
ment; 
Whereas the theme of the fifth International Day of Edu-
cation is ‘‘to invest in people, prioritize education’’; 
Whereas access to quality education reduces poverty, ad-
vances economic prosperity, improves peace and security, 
and strengthens public health, and poverty is one of the 
most striking factors that impedes the attainment of 
foundational learning skills, particularly with regard to 
reading; 
Whereas foundational learning is an essential first step to en-
able children and young people to access more advanced 
learning and skills, and children who cannot read and un-
derstand a simple text will struggle to learn anything else 
in school and they are more likely to repeat a grade and 
drop out of school; 
Whereas at its peak, COVID–19-related school closures af-
fected more than 94 percent of the world’s students, rep-
resenting 1,580,000,000 children and youth, from 
preprimary to higher education, in 200 countries; 
Whereas an estimated 147,000,000 children have missed 
more than half of their in-class instruction over the past 
2 years due to school closures caused by the COVID–19 
pandemic; 
Whereas this generation of children, affected by disruptions 
to education because of the pandemic, could lose a com-
bined total of $17,000,000,000,000 in lifetime earnings; 
Whereas, before COVID–19, primary enrollment for girls had 
increased by 65 percent; now an estimated 129 million 
girls worldwide remain out of school and face multiple 
barriers to education, and investments in addressing the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:23 Jan 25, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR54.IH
HR54
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 54 IH 
challenges that are keeping girls out of school are critical 
investments in global prosperity; 
Whereas approximately 222,000,000 school-aged children are 
affected by crises, of which 78,200,000 are out of school 
and 119,600,000 are not achieving minimum com-
petencies in mathematics and reading despite attending 
school; 
Whereas at the end of 2021, an estimated (41 percent) 
36,500,000 of the world’s 89,300,000 refugees, internally 
displaced persons, and other forcibly displaced persons 
were children and an estimated 68 percent of refugee 
children were enrolled at the primary level, but only 37 
percent were enrolled at the secondary level; 
Whereas there remains a need to close the gap between refu-
gees and their peers in the area of higher education; 
Whereas the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment (USAID) should expand access to distance learning 
materials and technology, support safe school reopening 
plans, including reenrollment campaigns for out-of-school 
children and youth, and prioritize assessments of student 
learning levels, remedial and accelerated learning, and 
curriculum adaptation, and renew efforts to reach 
marginalized students, including girls, children with dis-
abilities, and those living in displaced persons camps, in 
line with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 
(Public Law 117–229); 
Whereas for every $1 invested in girls’ education, as much 
of $2.80 is generated in economic growth, equating to bil-
lions of dollars in additional GDP growth, and in con-
trast, failing to educate girls is costing countries between 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:23 Jan 25, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR54.IH
HR54
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 54 IH 
$15,000,000,000,000 and $30,000,000,000,000 in lost 
lifetime productivity and earnings; 
Whereas even as domestic resources are taken into account, 
the annual financing gap over 2015–2030 for reaching 
quality universal preprimary, primary, and secondary 
education in low and lower middle income countries is 
$39,000,000,000; 
Whereas continued and increased bilateral educational sup-
port from the United States Government, as well as mul-
tilateral partnerships like the Global Partnership for 
Education (GPE) and Education Cannot Wait (ECW), 
play a critical role in helping marginalized children and 
adolescents build a future for themselves and the commu-
nities in which they live; 
Whereas in fiscal year 2021, USAID global education pro-
grams reached more than 33,400,000 learners in 73 
countries and assisted more than 113,000 schools at the 
preprimary, primary, and secondary levels; 
Whereas the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is a 
proven and effective aid delivery mechanism that com-
plements the United States Government’s bilateral basic 
education programs by fostering coordination among all 
key partners, supporting the development and implemen-
tation of strong national education sector plans, and 
building on the commitment of developing country gov-
ernments to expand quality educational opportunities for 
children in an equitable manner; 
Whereas the United States Government’s annual support for 
GPE has had a transformative impact in the lives of chil-
dren around the world, and since GPE’s inception in 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:23 Jan 25, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR54.IH
HR54
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 54 IH 
2002, 160,000,000 more children, more than half of 
them girls, are in school in GPE’s 85 partner countries; 
Whereas the United States pledged $305,000,000 over 3 
years to the Global Partnership for Education at its 2021 
Global Education Summit; 
Whereas ECW is at the forefront of efforts to increase access 
to education in crisis settings, and since its inception in 
2016, ECW has reached 6,900,000 children and adoles-
cents; provided education materials and textbooks to over 
4,200,000 children; strengthened equity and gender 
equality by reaching 3,300,000 girls; supported the train-
ing of 87,367 teachers and administrators; doubled the 
number of teachers trained on mental health and psycho-
social support; and developed 24 Multi-Year Resilience 
Programs and disbursed 199 First Emergency Response 
grants; 
Whereas the United States has been central to the success 
of ECW, as the third largest donor to ECW currently, 
and continued support will be critical if ECW is to meet 
its 2023–2026 Strategic Plan goals; 
Whereas the private sector is an important partner to 
USAID and the Department of State in reaching inter-
national education goals as evidenced by a 2019 joint 
pledge of $12,500,000 to Education Cannot Wait by 
LEGO Foundation to bring quality learning experiences 
to children in emergency situations; 
Whereas the United States Government has long been a lead-
er in global education and has made global commitments 
to improve access to education and learning for at least 
15,000,000 girls globally by 2025; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:23 Jan 25, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR54.IH
HR54
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 54 IH 
Whereas the United States has also endorsed the Commit-
ment to Action on Foundational Learning as developed 
with World Bank, UNICEF, and USAID during the 
2022 United Nations Transforming Education Summit, 
committing to taking urgent and decisive action to ensure 
all children develop the foundational skills needed to re-
duce the global share of children unable to read and un-
derstand a simple text by age 10, by half, by 2030; 
Whereas USAID made 16 commitments to be achieved by 
2026 at the Global Disability Summit, including commit-
ments to promote disability-inclusive education, strength-
en disability data for education programming, promote 
the Universal Design for Learning approach in all new 
education programs, and increase disability-inclusive ini-
tiatives at all levels of education, from preprimary 
through higher education programming; 
Whereas Congress has long supported strong bipartisan fund-
ing for the International Basic Education program at 
USAID; however the President’s annual Budget Request 
for international basic education funding has been lower 
than the previously congressionally appropriated level 
since 2004; 
Whereas Congress passed the Reinforcing Education Ac-
countability in Development (READ) Act (Division A, 
Public Law 115–56), in 2017 to demonstrate the United 
States Government’s commitment to improve access to 
education around the world and ensure individuals 
around the world have the education and skills needed to 
be productive members of society and the workforce; and 
Whereas the authorities under the READ Act expire at the 
end of fiscal year 2023: Now, therefore, be it 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:23 Jan 25, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR54.IH
HR54
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 54 IH 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) commends the leadership and commitment 
of the United States Government to improve access 
to quality, inclusive education and improved learning 
outcomes for the poorest and most marginalized 
children and adolescents worldwide, which promotes 
global stability, economic prosperity, and poverty 
elimination; 
(2) recognizes that United States Government 
investments in bilateral basic education are com-
plemented by Global Partnership for Education’s 
education systems-level approach and partnership 
building and Education Cannot Wait’s focus on edu-
cation in emergencies and protracted crises; 
(3) encourages the United States Government 
to integrate education in all humanitarian response 
efforts—both bilateral and multilateral—and con-
tinue to promote coordination across all sectors and 
branches of the United States Government; 
(4) implores the United States Government to 
meet its various commitments to international basic 
education through its annual budget requests to 
Congress and to expand bilateral and multilateral 
support recognizing the significant global need; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:23 Jan 25, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR54.IH
HR54
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
•HRES 54 IH 
(5) calls on the Secretary of State and the Ad-
ministrator of the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development to use all diplomatic, humani-
tarian, and development means, including via high- 
level 
leadership 
in 
multilaterals, 
and 
global 
convenings, to promote access to quality education 
for children and adolescents throughout the world; 
and 
(6) calls on the Secretary of State and the Ad-
ministrator of the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development to commit to prioritizing qual-
ity, inclusive public education for children and youth 
with disabilities, girls, children and youth in emer-
gency 
and 
crisis 
settings, 
and 
traditionally 
marginalized groups as a critical component to 
learning equity, poverty elimination, and global sta-
bility and prosperity. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:23 Jan 25, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR54.IH
HR54
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS