mr. chabot, mr. smith, ms. mccollum. this is a bipartisan, important piece of legislation and i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. royce: the point i would make in closing is in the wake of the horrors we've seen perpetrated by isis against women, and boko haram against schoolgirls, kidnapping and enslaving them and robbing them of their freedom, we had one of these girls testify before our committee who would far -- who had narrowly escaped boko haram but lost her mother and father. i know so many of us are deeply concerned about the plight of women and girls around the world, this recognizes the suffering and aims to empower those who have been cast into the shadows of their society. birth registration is one of the first steps in the fight to preserve an individual's basic rights under the law. and it is also a critical means to ensure the full participation of women and girls in