Political Quotes

“It is now my great pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), one of the coauthors of this bill and someone who has worked endlessly to make sure this bill passes. Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, today, I rise to support the Girls Count Act. I want to thank Mr. Chabot and his staff for working alongside my office on this important bill. I want to thank Mr. Royce and, of course, Mr. Engel for their support in moving this bill forward. Madam Speaker, we can all agree that every child deserves to have his birth, name, and identity recognized by his government. Every child deserves access to an education and to health services. Without a recognized identity, that is just not possible. Unfortunately, UNICEF estimates that 230 million children under the age of 5--and that is mostly girls--do not have birth certificates. Without this piece of paper, they are effectively invisible to their governments, invisible to the world. These invisible girls are likely not to be able to attend school or to access the needed health services. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for a girl to inherit, to vote, or to simply be a full and active member of her community. This girl would be at high risk of being confined to her home, of being forced into early marriage, or of being sold into human trafficking. Without a birth certificate, she will likely face a bleak future. None of us would want this for her.…”