I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 783 
To address the urgent need for a Federal strategy to ensure that individuals 
who encounter minors at risk of female genital mutilation are fully 
prepared to take action to prevent the practice, and individuals who 
have been subjected to female genital mutilation can seek necessary 
services, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2015 
Mr. CROWLEY (for himself and Ms. JACKSON LEE) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To address the urgent need for a Federal strategy to ensure 
that individuals who encounter minors at risk of female 
genital mutilation are fully prepared to take action to 
prevent the practice, and individuals who have been sub-
jected to female genital mutilation can seek necessary 
services, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Zero Tolerance for 
FGM Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Female genital mutilation (in this Act re-
ferred to as ‘‘FGM’’) is a harmful traditional prac-
tice carried out on an estimated 125 million girls 
and women around the world. 
(2) If current trends continue, an additional 86 
million will face the procedure by 2030, including 
minors in the United States. 
(3) According to an article which appeared in 
Public Health Reports (1997 JAN–FEB) entitled 
‘‘Female genital mutilation. Female circumcision. 
Who is at risk in the U.S.?’’, relying on estimates 
derived by the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention, in 1990 over 168,000 girls and women liv-
ing in the United States had either been, or were at 
risk of being, subjected to FGM. 
(4) FGM is widely recognized as a violation of 
the rights of girls. 
(5) The United Nations, with the support of the 
United States, adopted a resolution calling for all 
countries to develop national strategies to end FGM. 
(6) The United Nations declared a goal of fully 
ending FGM within a generation. 
(7) The United Nations recognizes Inter-
national Day for Zero Tolerance of FGM. 
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(8) It is illegal to carry out FGM against a 
minor in the United States. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of the Congress that— 
(1) there is an urgent need for the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, in consultation with of-
ficials at other relevant Federal departments and 
agencies, to develop and implement a multi-agency 
strategy to ensure that— 
(A) individuals who encounter minors at 
risk of FGM are fully prepared to take action 
to prevent the practice; and 
(B) individuals who have been subjected to 
FGM can seek necessary services; 
(2) the strategy should provide for updating the 
estimates of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention on the prevalence of women and girls 
with female genital mutilation or female circumci-
sion; and 
(3) the strategy should provide for a public 
awareness campaign, so that the American public 
understands— 
(A) how to help individuals in danger of 
being subjected to FGM; and 
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(B) how to address the needs of individuals 
who have been subjected to it. 
SEC. 4. REPORT. 
Not later than one year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
in consultation with officials at relevant Federal depart-
ments and agencies, shall submit to the Congress a report 
on the status of the development and implementation of 
the strategy described in section 3. 
Æ 
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