Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2140) to prevent child marriage in United Nations- administered refugee settlements, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 2140 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Child Marriage in Displaced Populations Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) According to UNICEF, 12 million girls marry before the age of 18 every year. (2) Early marriage denies children, especially girls, their right to make vital decisions about their well-being, including relating to their health, family, and career. Child brides are less likely to finish their education, and are at higher risk for abuse, contracting HIV, and dying while pregnant or giving birth. (3) Child marriage also imposes substantial economic costs to developing countries, impeding development and prosperity gains. (4) Displaced populations are particularly vulnerable to child marriage, in communities where poverty, instability, and displacement put pressure on families to marry children, particularly young girls, off at a young age. (5) One United Nations (UN) study found that child marriage rates were four times higher among displaced Syrian refugees than among Syrians before the crisis.…”