I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1606 To amend the Child Abuse and Prevention Act to require a study and report on marital age of consent. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 8, 2021 Mr. TAYLOR (for himself, Mr. MORELLE, and Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu- cation and Labor A BILL To amend the Child Abuse and Prevention Act to require a study and report on marital age of consent. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘End Forced Child Mar- 4 riages Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT ON MARITAL AGE OF CON- 6 SENT. 7 Section 110 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 8 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106f) is amended by adding 9 at the end the following: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1606.IH H1606 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1606 IH ‘‘(e) STUDY AND REPORT ON MARITAL AGE OF CON- 1 SENT.— 2 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—The Secretary shall study, with 3 respect to each State— 4 ‘‘(A) the State law regarding the minimum 5 marriage age; and 6 ‘‘(B) the prevalence of marriage involving 7 a child who is under the age of such minimum 8 marriage age. 9 ‘‘(2) FACTORS.—The study required under 10 paragraph (1) shall include an examination of— 11 ‘‘(A) the extent to which any statutory ex- 12 ceptions to the minimum marriage age in such 13 laws contribute to the prevalence of marriage 14 involving a child described in paragraph (1)(B); 15 ‘‘(B) whether such exceptions allow such a 16 child to be married without the consent of such 17 child; and 18 ‘‘(C) the impact of such exceptions on the 19 safety of such children. 20 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 21 date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary 22 shall submit to the Committee on Health, Edu- 23 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 24 Committee on Education and Labor of the House of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1606.IH H1606 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1606 IH Representatives a report containing the findings of 1 the study required by this subsection, including any 2 best practices.’’. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1606.IH H1606 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS