State Department Reauthorization Bill to Prevent Child Marriage, Expand Opportunities for Girls Passes Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 21, 2009) - Thirty organizations commended House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Howard Berman (D-CA) and the House Foreign Affairs Committee for incorporating provisions to confront child marriage in the State Department Reauthorization Bill. Passed yesterday in Committee, the bill now must be voted on by the House of Representatives.

Introduced in the House by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) and in the Senate by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sen.Olympia Snowe (R-ME) earlier this month, the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act (HR. 2103 and S. 987) authorizes U.S. foreign assistance programs to prevent child marriage and provide educational and economic opportunities for girls in the developing world. Rep. Berman's inclusion of these measures into the State Department Reauthorization Bill authorizes funding for programs that protect the health and rights of girls worldwide for fiscal years 2010 and 2011.

''Married girls – some as young as eight, 10 or 12 years old – are condemned to a life of forced labor, coerced sex, extreme poverty and utter hopelessness,'' said Rep. McCollum (MN-4). ''In countries such as Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, child marriage is nothing short of modern slavery, and we must work to end this damaging practice. My commitment is to make sure girls can avoid the harm of child marriage and, instead, have the opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute their skills to strengthening their communities and eventually freely decide for themselves who their marriage partner will be. Congress can play a major role in sending a message that child marriage is unacceptable by investing in resources to improve the future and the lives of girls.''

Child marriage is common in many parts of the world. Some 60 million girls in the developing world are married and, if current patterns continue, more than 100 million girls will be married during the next 10 years. Child marriage undermines U.S. development investments by limiting the education, health care, social advancement and economic opportunities of millions of girls in the developing world.

To succeed in strengthening U.S. foreign policy, including reducing poverty and maximizing our development assistance, ending child marriage must continue to be a policy priority for Congress and the administration. We urge Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry (D-MA) and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to include the same legislation (S. 987) in the Senate version of the State Department Reauthorization Act.