IIB 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3398 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
NOVEMBER 20, 2014 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
AN ACT 
To authorize the Secretary of State and the Administrator 
of the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment to provide assistance to support the rights of 
women and girls in developing countries, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Girls Count Act of 
2014’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) According to the United States Census Bu-
reau’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 data also asserts that young people are 
the fastest growing segment of the population in de-
veloping countries. 
(3) Even though most countries do have birth 
registration laws, nearly one-third of all children 
under the age of 5 worldwide have never had their 
births registered. Moreover, an estimated 45 percent 
of children under the age of 5 worldwide (about 290 
million children) do not possess a birth certificate. 
(4) A nationally recognized proof of birth is the 
key to determining a child’s citizenship, nationality, 
place of birth, parentage and age, without which a 
passport, drivers license, or national identification 
card are impossible to obtain. Those who lack such 
documentation are often prevented from officially 
participating in and benefitting from the formal eco-
nomic, legal, and political sectors in their countries. 
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(5) The lack of birth registration among girls 
worldwide is particularly concerning as it exacer-
bates their disproportionate vulnerability to traf-
ficking, 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 em-
ployment, 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 young-
er children, and doing chores. 
(8) Accurate assessments of access to edu-
cation, poverty levels, and overall census activities 
are hampered by the lack of official information on 
women and girls. Without this rudimentary informa-
tion, assessments of foreign assistance and domestic 
social welfare programs cannot be accurately 
gauged. 
(9) To ensure that women and girls are fully in-
tegrated into United States foreign assistance poli-
cies and programs, that the specific needs of girls 
are, to the maximum extent possible, addressed in 
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the design, implementation, and evaluation of devel-
opment assistance programs, and that women and 
girls have the power to affect the decisions that af-
fect their lives, all girls should be counted and have 
access to birth certificates and other official docu-
mentation. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to— 
(1) encourage countries to uphold the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights and enact laws that 
ensure girls and boys of all ages are full participants 
in society, including requiring birth certifications 
and some type of national identity card to ensure 
that all citizens, including girls, are counted; 
(2) enhance training and capacity-building to 
developing countries, local nongovernmental organi-
zations, and other civil society organizations to effec-
tively address the needs of birth registries in coun-
tries where girls are undercounted; 
(3) include organizations representing children 
and families in the design, implementation, and 
monitoring of programs under this Act; and 
(4) mainstream into the design, implementa-
tion, and evaluation of policies and programs at all 
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levels an understanding of the distinctive impact 
that such policies and programs may have on girls. 
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT COUNT-
ING OF GIRLS IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary and the Admin-
istrator are authorized to— 
(1) support programs that will contribute to im-
proved and sustainable Civil Registration and Vital 
Statistics Systems (CRVS) with a focus on birth 
registration as the first and most important life 
event to be registered; 
(2) promote programs that build the capacity of 
developing countries’ national and local legal and 
policy frameworks to prevent discrimination against 
girls; 
(3) support programs to help increase property 
rights, social security, and home ownership, land 
tenure security, and inheritance rights for women; 
and 
(4) assist key ministries in the governments of 
developing countries, including health, interior, 
youth, and education ministries, to ensure that girls 
from poor households obtain equitable access to so-
cial programs. 
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(b) COORDINATION WITH MULTILATERAL ORGANI-
ZATIONS.—The Secretary shall coordinate with the World 
Bank, relevant United Nations agencies and programs, 
and other relevant organizations to urge and work with 
countries to enact, implement, and enforce laws that spe-
cifically collect data on girls and establish registration and 
identification laws to ensure girls are active participants 
in the social, economic, legal and political sectors of society 
in their countries. 
(c) COORDINATION WITH PRIVATE SECTOR
AND 
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS.—The Secretary and the 
Administrator should work with United States, inter-
national, and local private sector and civil society organi-
zations to advocate for the registration and documentation 
of all girls and boys in developing countries to prevent ex-
ploitation, violence, and other abuses. 
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, United States 
foreign assistance and development assistance bene-
ficiaries by age, gender, marital status, location, and 
school enrollment status. 
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(2) A description of how United States foreign 
assistance and development assistance benefits girls. 
(3) Specific information on programs that ad-
dress the particular needs of girls. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ 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 sec-
tion 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 5 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Passed the House of Representatives November 19, 
2014. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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