Status of Child Marriages in the United States Act of 2020

Bill: 116-hr-8638
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4]
Introduced: 2020-10-20
Policy area: Families
Subjects: Child safety and welfare

Congressional oversight

Domestic violence and child abuse

Government studies and investigations

Human trafficking

Marriage and family status

Sex offenses

State and local government operations

Violent crime
Latest action: action_date: 2020-10-20
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-10-20
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Status of Child Marriages in the United States Act of 2020</b><br> <br> This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to study and report on the effect of state laws on child marriages (i.e., where a party to the marriage has not attained age 18 at the time of the marriage) and forced marriages. The study must include an evaluation of state laws with respect to the minimum age to receive a marriage license and exceptions to such minimum age requirements, and the extent to which child marriage leads to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking.</p>

tv_txt: I 116th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8638 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 20, 2020 Ms. Moore (for herself and Mr. Taylor ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study on the effect of State laws on child marriages and forced marriages, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Status of Child Marriages in the United States Act of 2020 . 2. Study and report on child and forced marriages (a) Study The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this Act referred to as the Secretary ) shall conduct a study on the effect of State laws on child marriages and forced marriages. Such study shall include an evaluation of the following: (1) State laws with respect to the minimum age required to receive a marriage license and exceptions to such minimum age requirement, including in the cases of parental consent, judicial approval, emancipation, and pregnancy. (2) The effect of legislative reforms on— (A) State laws described in paragraph (1); and (B) the number of child marriages in— (i) each State that has enacted exceptions to such minimum age requirement; and (ii) States that are adjacent to a State described in clause (i). (3) The difficulty of obtaining data from each State with respect to child marriages. (4) The extent to which exceptions to the minimum age requirement increase the number of child marriages that also qualify as a forced marriage. (5) The extent to which child marriage leads to— (A) domestic violence; (B) dating violence; (C) sexual assault; and (D) sex trafficking. (b) Report Not later than 2 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete the study under subsection (a) and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report containing the findings of the study, including information that is disaggregated by age and gender. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) State The term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, each commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe. (2) Child marriage The term child marriage means a marriage in which a party to the marriage has not attained the age of 18 at the time of the marriage. (3) Forced marriage The term forced marriage means a marriage that takes place without the full and free consent of one or both parties and typically involves force, fraud, or coercion.