2015 Testimony of Fr. Shay Cullen, Founder of PREDA Philippines, Speaking at the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Hearing on Accountability and Transformation: Tier Rankings in The Fight Against Human Trafficking
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-accountability-and-transformation-tier-rankings-fight-against-human

2014 Testimony of Nathalie Lummert, Director of Special Programs, Migration and Refugee Services, USCCB, Speaking at the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Hearing on Accountability and Transformation: Tier Rankings in The Fight Against Human Trafficking
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-effective-accountability-tier-rankings-fight-against-human-trafficking

The Girls Count Act of 2015, HR 2100 in the House of Representatives and S. 802 in the Senate, authorizes the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide assistance supporting the rights of women and girls in developing countries through birth registration and access to educational and economic programs. The bill instructs DOS and USAID to prioritize efforts to register girls’ births. The lack of birth registration among girls worldwide exacerbates their vulnerability to trafficking and child marriage. Knowing the age of a child is central to protecting them from child labor, being arrested and treated as adults in the justice system, forcible conscription in armed forces, child marriage, trafficking and sexual exploitation. A birth certificate as proof of birth can facilitate the traceability and identity of unaccompanied and separated children and promote safe migration. In effect, birth registration is a child’s ‘passport to protection.’