Senate Committee Approves Dodd Legislation to Expand Peace Corps, Affirm its Independence
Read and comment on this Press Release from Senator Dodd's Office on the Peace Corps Amendment approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 9. Following this story is the original story we published about the bill on April 9. Read the story at:
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Senate Committee Approves Dodd Legislation to Expand Peace Corps, Affirm its Independence
Measure strengthens agency's work in promoting grassroots development, global understanding
Washington, D.C. - Acknowledging the extraordinary achievements of the Peace Corps over its forty-year history as well as its critical, ongoing role in encouraging mutual understanding and nonviolent coexistence among peoples of diverse cultures, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations today approved legislation authored by Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) that charts a course for the Peace Corps for the 21st century while maintaining its status as an independent, nonpartisan agency. The measure will now be considered by the full Senate as part of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004.
"The terrorist attacks of September 11th, more than anything, have shown us that the world has become a much, much smaller place," said Dodd, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1968. "The United States can no longer afford to neglect certain countries, or certain parts of the world - we need to help developing countries meet the basic needs of their people; we need to better understand other cultures; and we need to do a better job promoting an understanding of American values abroad. In 40-plus years, the Peace Corps has grown and expanded considerably. We must ensure that we are keeping pace with the new responsibilities of the Peace Corps, and the changing needs of Peace Corps volunteers."
Since its establishment by President Kennedy in 1961, the Peace Corps has operated in 135 countries with 165,000 volunteers. The Peace Corps seeks to fulfill its mission of promoting world peace and friendship through the service of American volunteers abroad by helping people in developing countries meet basic needs, to promote understanding of America's values and ideals abroad, and to promote an understanding of other peoples by Americans.
The Peace Corps Charter for the 21st Century Act would amend the Peace Corps Act to increase the number of Peace Corps volunteers to 15,000; encourage the Peace Corps to increase its presence in countries whose governments are seeking to foster a greater understanding by and about their citizens (particularly those with a substantial Muslim population); work with U.S. and world public health organizations to establish a global initiative to help train volunteers in the education, prevention, and treatment of infections diseases; create a fund to provide seed money to returned volunteers for community projects; and reiterate the importance of the continued independence of the Peace Corps.Senate Foreign Relations Committee adopts Senator Dodd's Peace Corps Amendment
Read and comment on this exclusive story that today the Senate Foreign Relations Committee adopted Senator Dodd's amendment to the Foreign Relations Authorization Act that contains the language from last year's "Peace Corps Charter for the 21st Century" bill. The Amendment is essentially identical to S2667 that Senator Dodd introduced last year and which passed by unanimous consent in the Senate but that died in the House. The next step is action on the floor of the Senate in May. The full text of the Amendment is available at:
* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee adopts Senator Dodd's Peace Corps Amendment
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee today adopted Senator Dodd's amendment to the Foreign Relations Authorization Act that contains the language from last year's "Peace Corps Charter for the 21st Century" bill (S2667) which passed the Senate last year by unanimous consent but that died in the House. The next step is action on the floor of the Senate in May.
The Amendment calls for the Peace Corps to develop a strategy for special volunteer recruitment and placement, especially countries with substantial Muslim populations.
The Amendment encourages the Director to utilize the experience and insight of returned volunteers from these countries to foster a greater Peace Corps presence there in the future, as well as an understanding of the most effective way to open or reopen Peace Corps programs in such countries.
The Amendment establishes a global infectious disease initiative for training of volunteers in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization, and local public health officials.
The Amendment streamlines membership of existing Peace Corps Advisory Council, requires the majority (4 of 7) of voting members of the council to be former Peace Corps Volunteers.
The Amendment raises volunteers’ readjustment allowances to $275 for each month of service.
The Amendment authorizes an additional $10 million for the Corporation for National and Community Service to fund projects of returned Peace Corps Volunteers to promote the third goal of the Peace Corps (relating to promoting a better understanding of other peoples on the part of the American people).
The Amendment authorizes appropriations at the administration’s requested levels for FY 2004-2007 to fund the doubling of volunteers by end of FY 2007.
The Amendment restates the independence of the Peace Corps from other government agencies.
The Amendment requires the following reports to Congress (1) on new initiatives to be undertaken by Peace Corps; (2) on status of security procedures in Peace Corps countries, including current conditions and recommendations; and (3) on current student loan forgiveness programs available to Volunteers, and a comparison with other government-sponsored loan forgiveness programs.
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