No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states findings that over 314,000 minors married in the United States from 2000 to 2021, most to adult men and at ages 16 or 17, and details associated harms including 50 percent higher high school dropout rates, fourfold lower college graduation rates, up to 31 percent greater future poverty risk, elevated psychiatric disorders and serious health conditions, and triple the national average intimate partner violence rates for girls ages 16 to 19. It further notes that 70 to 80 percent of such marriages end in divorce, that state laws in four states and two territories set no minimum marriage age, and that U.S. immigration approvals included 8,686 spousal or fiancé petitions involving at least one minor from FY2007 to FY2017.
This section defines "noncitizen" as any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and "State" as each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
This section establishes the National Commission to Combat Child Marriage in the United States within the Department of Health and Human Services. The 10-member commission must study applicable state laws, the current and prior five-year extent of child marriage in each state, barriers to services for minors, and relevant federal programs; review prior evaluations; and submit recommendations to Congress and the HHS Secretary on strategies, policies, and legislative changes to eliminate child marriage.
This section requires the Comptroller General to submit a report within 3 years to the Judiciary and HELP Committees in the Senate and the Judiciary and Education and Workforce Committees in the House describing federal laws and programs on child marriage, state laws defining or prohibiting it, the number of marriages involving individuals under 18 in each state over the prior 5 years, and research published in the prior 10 years on the circumstances, risk factors, and effects of such marriages on medical, mental health, economic, educational, and safety outcomes. It also requires biennial reports through 2035 assessing the admission of noncitizens under 18 as beneficiaries of petitions filed by U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouses and of nonimmigrant spouses under 18, including petitioner and beneficiary sex and ages at marriage, petition filing, and approval, the basis for meeting evidentiary requirements, and adjudicator feedback on guidance sufficiency.
This section establishes a competitive grant program under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act authorizing the Secretary to award funds to states that permit marriage before age 18. Eligible states must create task forces with specified experts in family violence, child protection, and related fields to collect 10 years of statewide marriage data on individuals under 18, examine links to forced marriage, sexual assault, trafficking, and other harms, develop policy recommendations, and issue a report on protecting minors. The program is authorized at $375,000 annually for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2032.
This section increases funding under the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program and the Sexual Assault Services Program by up to 10 percent of a state's average award over the prior 3 years for states that prohibit marriage before age 18 (or the state age of majority if higher). The increase lasts 2 years per award and may be provided no more than 4 times per state, with 25 percent allocated to STOP grants and 75 percent to Sexual Assault Services, and authorizes $5 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2032.
This section prohibits the use of any federal property to facilitate a marriage unless both individuals are at least 18 years of age.
This section directs the Attorney General to establish an 8-member working group, with at least one representative from each of five specified Department of Justice components, to promulgate a model State statute no later than 180 days after the National Commission to Combat Child Marriage in the United States issues its final report. The model statute must set the minimum marriage age at 18 (or the state age of majority if higher), permit individuals married as minors to petition to void the marriage, and bar adults who married a minor from voiding it.
This section adds the term "noncitizen" to mean any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States. It requires U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to be at least 18 years old at the time of marriage (and noncitizen spouses to be at least 18, or 16 in limited state-law cases with a compelling humanitarian reason) to qualify for K nonimmigrant visas, immediate relative status, or family preference classification as spouses. It preserves eligibility for VAWA self-petitioners and battered spouses without regard to age at marriage.