To amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to prohibit the use of public funds to make payments of awards and settlements in connection with violations of such Act which are committed by employing offices of the House of Representatives and Senate, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 601) to enhance the transparency and accelerate the impact of assistance provided under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to promote quality basic education in developing countries, to better enable such countries to achieve universal access to quality basic education and improved learning outcomes, to eliminate duplication and waste, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 601, the Reinforcing Education Accountability and Development Act, or the READ Act. This bill passed the House at the end of the last Congress in essentially the same form as H.R. 4481. I am pleased the House has moved to take it up again today.

We all recognize the importance of education as a driver of economic growth, social mobility, and overall stability. Education is what increases the productivity of the workforce. This is what empowers men and women to better care for themselves and their families. It increases civic participation.

Even 1 extra year of schooling significantly increases a worker's earnings over her or his lifespan. For women in particular, a primary school education is directly correlated very strongly with improved maternal-child health and improved survival rates.

Yet, around the world, as we know here, there are 120 million children that are not in school. More than one-third of these children, as Nita Lowey can testify, come from countries that are embroiled in war, embroiled in conflict, and many of these recent conflicts have lasted for over a decade.

We are now seeing entire generations of these young children who are failing to receive even the most basic education.

You want to talk about a humanitarian crisis?

This is it. There are clear implications for global stability and for our security.

When children remain out of school, what do they face?

Well, certainly great increased risk of abuse at the hands of traffickers, forced marriage or marriage as a child bride, and recruitment by criminal or terrorist organizations.

Nowhere is this harsh reality more clear than in Syria, where 4 million Syrian children are currently out of school. We have had the opportunity to talk to many of these children on the border and see what their circumstances are like.

Inside Syria, these children are being shaped by violence and by a lack of alternatives that place them at high risk of exploitation and radicalization. As refugees--if you talk to our friends and allies in the region--they are placing tremendous strain on the education system in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey.

Despite these growing challenges, it has been decades since Congress reviewed and updated the authorities on which U.S. international basic education efforts are based.

This bill, the READ Act, introduces the new guidelines and the increased accountability for existing U.S. efforts to improve access to basic education in developing and conflict-torn countries. It requires strategic planning. It requires the prioritization of resources relative to needs on the ground in these countries and relative to the potential for impact. It requires alignment with U.S. diplomatic development and security interests.

Particular emphasis is given to those areas in crisis and those countries that are partners of the United States that face this critical challenge, whose populations are most in need, who have committed their own resources to ensure the success and sustainability of these efforts, but need our assistance.

It also requires increased attention to what is most important here, and that is to the specific barriers to education that are faced by women and girls.

The bill formalizes a senior coordinator position within USAID to oversee the development and implementation of a strategic plan across Federal agencies to ensure coordination and eliminate duplication and waste.

I thank Representative Lowey for her continued bipartisan leadership on this issue, as well as my committee's ranking member, Mr. Engel, and the chair of our Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, Mr. Smith, for their work on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I concur with those arguments that Mr. Engel just made. Congresswoman Nita Lowey and I have talked about this, and if my colleagues will think on this for a minute, the reality today is that we face a situation where there are 65 million men, women, and children around the globe who have been displaced by conflict. I would just like the Members to think about the fact that this is more people than were displaced during World War II. This is the highest level, highest on record of human beings who have been displaced by conflict. Think about what that means to the children who are those most victimized.

The United States is doing important work around the world, trying to help our allies, trying to help organizations--and there are many good NGOs working on this--to address this massive education deficit that so many of these children face. But Congress, I think, has to demand a greater degree, yes, of transparency and accountability for these activities to ensure our investments are as effective as possible in line with our strategic interests.

There is one more thing that we have to ask of our partners in this, and that is equal access to every young girl for education. That has got to be up there at the top of that priority list.

This Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development Act outlines clear priorities for this work with that emphasis that I talked about and asking those partners to carry out their end of this bargain. This bill also requires aggressive monitoring and evaluation and an annual report that justifies the investment on a country-by-country basis, but holds with it the accountability for the education of girls and for the rest of this work.

I urge Members to support this measure. Again, I thank Representative Lowey. I thank the rest of the Members who worked on this for working on such a bipartisan basis on its provisions.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation.

Again, I thank our chairman, Ed Royce, for his leadership and working together.

I want to acknowledge my good friend from New York (Mrs. Lowey), who authored this bill. For years and years, she has been a champion for access to education here in the United States and around the world.

Like the other bills before us today, we passed this legislation in the last Congress. I am glad we are taking it up so early this year so that, hopefully, the Senate can act.

Mr. Speaker, research tells us that more than a quarter billion young people around the world are not in school. For millions more, the educational opportunities are substandard. This lack of access puts so many young people at a tremendous disadvantage. Children should be in classrooms. They should be aspiring to their highest potential, thinking about what they want to be when they grow up.

The payoff of a few years of quality education is huge. Every year of primary school increases an individual's earning potential by 5 to 15 percent. It is not just those students who reap the benefits, it is really all of us.

Consider public health and economics. More educated populations are healthier and more productive. Consider threats to our security. In places like Afghanistan and South Sudan, where roughly half of children are not in school, we know that violent extremists and others are ready to fill the vacuum, leading these vulnerable young people down a dark, dark path. Research has also told us that in high-risk places like Somalia, where young people can learn about certain issues like nonviolent civic engagement, participation in violence drops by 14 percent and support for violence drops by 20 percent.

That is why education needs to be a foreign policy priority and why we need to be very careful as a new administration urges to make major changes in America's foreign assistance. This legislation calls for a 5-year strategy for expanding opportunities for kids to go to school all over the world, especially where children are most vulnerable. It would put a new point person in charge of making sure that our efforts across government are coordinated and effective, and it would place a special emphasis on monitoring and evaluation so that we know we are getting the best bang for the buck when it comes to our investments in basic education.

This bill would help to put children in classrooms around the world. It would give more young people a better shot at a full and successful life. I am proud to support it. I commend Mrs. Lowey.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), the author of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, I read a few weeks ago that the new administration was planning to retool the State Department to focus more on terrorism. The article suggested that the State Department might do away with some of our smart power efforts. That would be a mistake. I look at an effort like this one, expanding access to education, and I know that it isn't taking away from our ability to combat terrorism. In fact, it is critical to that fight.

When we help more young people get access to a good education, we are giving them the tools to think critically and resist those who mean us harm. We are helping give people an alternative, a path forward for their lives.

When kids don't have these skills, who do you think shows up? When children are told from a young age, with no competing message, that America is their enemy, how does that shape their lives?

So I hope that this bill gets to the new President's desk and that he sees the value not just in expanding access to education, but in the wide range of foreign policy priorities that help to project stability and make communities stronger, that show the world that the United States is a friend and a partner, and not an enemy.

Again, I thank Congresswoman Lowey for her hard work. I thank Chairman Royce for his hard work and collegiality, as always. I support this bill. I urge all Members to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in full support of bipartisan legislation that would increase transparency and congressional oversight of U.S. basic education programs around the world.

H.R. 601, the Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development-- READ--Act, which I introduced with my colleague, Representative David Reichert, would elevate the importance of education while improving USAID's efforts and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are well spent.

The challenge is clear. Nearly 60 million primary school-age children and 65 million adolescents are out of school around the world. Millions more are expected to never enroll. Women and girls are disproportionately out of school. The United States has a clear moral, economic, and security interest in promoting universal basic education as a fundamental human right.

The bill before us today enhances Congress' oversight of USAID's work with foreign governments, NGOs, and multilateral organizations to help nations develop and implement quality programs, address key barriers to school attendance, and increase completion rates for the poorest and most vulnerable children worldwide. It calls on USAID to develop a comprehensive strategy and appoint a senior coordinator tasked with ensuring that our programs expand access to millions of children who are not in school and improve the quality of education for millions who are.

These efforts will not only help students read and write, they will ultimately help protect vulnerable children from poverty, disease, hunger, and even extremism.

There is no greater force multiplier than education. An education is the fundamental tool with which girls and boys are empowered to increase their economic potential, improve their health outcomes, provide for their families, address cultural biases, participate in their communities, and contribute to democratic societies.

First introduced in 2004 and passed by the House last year, the bill before us today represents many years of hard work to elevate the importance of global education, bipartisan compromise, and the support of over 30 nonprofit and advocacy organizations, including RESULTS, the ONE Campaign, the Basic Education Coalition, the Global Campaign for Education, Global Citizen, the Malala Fund, and many other vital partners.

In closing, I thank Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, their hardworking staff--Joan, Jessica, Janice, and Mark, and, of course, Marin Stein, who has been working around the clock on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank them all. We have been working on this bill a very long time. I, again, thank Chairman Royce for his leadership and Ranking Member Engel. Their diligent efforts to bring the READ Act before the House today is so vital, and I urge immediate passage. In closing, thanks again to Marin Stein.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 601. As a parent who was very involved in my children's education and served as President of the Southfield Public Schools Board of Education, I firmly believe the importance of promoting education to all regions of the world. Education is a universal human right that should be obtained by every young mind of the world.

Access to basic education is a human right that must be guaranteed to all children. In my role as the Vice Chair of the Bipartisan Congressional Women's Caucus during the 115th Congress, I will work with my colleagues in a bipartisan manner to highlight barriers to basic education, specifically focusing on girls' education in the developing world. Providing girls with an education helps break the cycle of poverty. Educated women are less likely to get married, more likely to have healthy babies, and are more likely to understand the value of education.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation would ensure that aid is prioritized for the most vulnerable populations, particularly those living in conflict zones. We must take the necessary steps to see that these children are provided with the rights to develop their full potential in order to be contributing members of their societies.

The enforcement of this bill will help bridge the gap with some global issues that we still see today with marginalized groups seeking education. Young children, regardless of gender have the right to gain a quality education.

Children with disabilities or illnesses should not be shunned away from trying to learn because they are considered different.

I am grateful that our Chamber has taken this important step to ensure that the United States dedicates our time and resources to helping the future of the world gain an education. I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their continued support of universal education for all.