National Commission to Combat Child Marriage

Summary#

This bill seeks to reduce and eventually eliminate child marriage in the United States. It sets up a federal commission to study the problem and make recommendations, creates grants and incentives for States, changes some federal rules (including immigration), and bans marriages involving minors on federal property. The broad goal is to protect minors from forced or harmful marriages and to close federal and immigration practices that can enable child marriage.

• Creates the National Commission to Combat Child Marriage to study laws, collect data, hold hearings, and issue interim and final reports. The commission has a two-year lifespan and limited funding.
• Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on child marriage trends, impacts, and on immigration admissions involving people who were under 18 at marriage.
• Adds a competitive grant program for States that still allow marriage under 18 to form task forces to study child marriage and recommend State policy changes.
• Offers financial incentives: qualifying States that set 18 as the minimum marriage age may receive up to a 10% increase in certain federal formula grants for limited periods; Congress authorized funding to support this.
• Bars use of federal land or buildings to facilitate a marriage unless both people are at least 18.
• Directs the Department of Justice to prepare a model State law that would prohibit marriage under 18, let people married as minors petition to void the marriage, and prevent adults from voiding such marriages.
• Changes immigration law so most visa benefits tied to spousal or fiance(e) relationships require both parties to be adult at marriage; narrows exceptions and adds private interview and public-education requirements.

What it means for you#

• Minors and survivors

  • The bill aims to make it easier for someone who married before 18 to seek to have that marriage voided (cancelled) under a model State law the Justice Department must draft.
  • Survivors can expect more federal study, outreach, and (in some States) task forces examining services and gaps.

• State governments

  • States that still allow marriage under 18 may be eligible for grants to create State task forces.
  • States that set 18 as the minimum age with no exceptions may receive increased funding under two federal grant programs for limited 2-year periods, up to four times.

• Immigrants and families using marriage-based visas

  • For visa petitions filed after this law takes effect, many spousal and fiance(e) petitions will require both parties to have been adults at the time of marriage or, in narrow cases, to show a compelling humanitarian reason for a visa when one party was younger than 18.
  • Consular officers and immigration officials must conduct separate, private interviews of each party if either was under 18 at the time of the marriage or engagement.
  • The bill requires updated pamphlets and public education in multiple languages about the immigration changes and harms of child marriage.

• Federal agencies and courts

  • Federal buildings and lands cannot be used to facilitate marriages where either person is under 18.
  • Agencies must cooperate with the commission and GAO and share information as allowed by law.

• Taxpayers

  • The bill authorizes specific federal spending for the commission, State grants, and incentives (see Expenses). It may also increase administrative workload for immigration and other federal offices.

Expenses#

Estimated public cost: The bill authorizes specific amounts and may produce additional administrative costs not fully estimated.

• $1,500,000 authorized for each of fiscal years 2027 and 2028 to run the National Commission to Combat Child Marriage.
• $375,000 authorized per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2032 for State task force grants to eligible States.
• $5,000,000 authorized per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2032 to carry out the State incentive increases (the provision also allows up to a 10% increase in certain formula grants for qualifying States, subject to limits).
• The bill requires extra immigration interviews, public education materials in multiple languages, translations, and updated forms and pamphlets — these create administrative and staffing costs for USCIS, the Department of State, and other agencies, but no separate dollar estimates are provided in the bill text.
• GAO and DOJ activities will use agency resources; the bill does not attach separate appropriations for all such administrative tasks beyond the amounts above.

Proponents' View#

• The bill appears intended to end child marriage and protect children from forced or coercive unions.
• It would create a national study and data collection to better understand how often child marriages occur and what laws and services are missing.
• The bill could improve protections and services for survivors through State task forces and federal recommendations.
• Changing immigration rules and requiring private interviews could reduce the ease with which underage spouses enter the U.S. through visa channels.
• Financial incentives for States may encourage more States to raise the minimum marriage age to 18.

Opponents' View#

• One concern is that the bill increases federal involvement in areas traditionally handled by States (marriage laws), which may raise federalism questions.
• It is unclear how the narrow exceptions (for example, a 16–17-year-old in a State that allows it, or a “compelling, urgent humanitarian reason”) will be applied in practice and could require detailed agency guidance.
• The new interview and documentation rules for immigration could slow processing and increase workload for USCIS and consular offices; the bill does not provide full cost or staffing estimates for these changes.
• The incentive (up to a 10% increase in certain formula grants) may be modest compared with the political and legal changes required by some States; it is unclear whether the funding is large enough to prompt State law changes.
• The bill creates studies and reports but does not itself change every State law; elimination of child marriage nationwide would still rely on States taking action based on federal recommendations.