House Committee approves Peace Corps Expansion Act
Caption: Henry Hyde, Chairman of the House Committee on International Relations, was the architect of the "Millennium Challenge Account Authorization and Peace Corps Expansion Act of 2003" that was reported out of committee today by an overwhelming vote of 31 - 4.
Read and comment on this Press Release from the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations that this afternoon the Committee passed HR 2441 "The Millennium Challenge Account Authorization and Peace Corps Expansion Act of 2003." PCOL attended the committee markup session and will be writing up our notes and filing a more detailed story tomorrow.
The basic facts are that the bill that passed is actually a combination of two separate bills: the Millennium Challenge Account Authorization bill that expands U.S. economic assistance to high-performing countries in the developing world and the Peace Corps Expansion Bill that is a modified version of Sam Farr's HR 250 that the Returned Volunteer Community has been lobbying for since the beginning of this session of Congress. The bill received bi-partisan support from both Democrats and Republicans, it was supported by Committee Chairman Henry Hyde and by the ranking minority member of the Committee, Tom Lantos, it was supported by the Bush Administration and it passed the committee by a roll call vote of 31 to 4.
Now that the bill has been overwhelmingly approved in committee and has bi-partisan support, it is expected to pass the House of Representatives. A senior Committee Staff member told us that it is possible that the bill may come to a vote before the full House of Representatives as early as next week and may be attached to the State Department Appropriations Bill which is expected to come up for a vote next Thursday.
If the bill passes the House then we will be waiting for the Senate version of the bill to pass. The Senate version has already been reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is also expected the pass the full Senate.
If the bill passes both Houses of Congress then it will have to be reconciled in a joint Committee between the two houses. There are a number of differences between the House version and the Senate version of the bill. We will be doing a detailed side-by-side analysis of the differences between the two versions of the bill at a later date.
But for now, this has been a big victory and a big step for the Peace Corps in getting a bill out of committee that affirms the independence of the Peace Corps, that authorizes funding levels to expand the Peace Corps to meet the President's goal of doubling the Peace Corps by 2007, and that empowers the Returned Volunteer community with a revitalized Peace Corps Advisory Council and with a Peace Corps Innovation fund that will fund third goal projects by Returned Volunteers.
Keep in mind also that this bill only authorizes the expenditures for Peace Corps expansion and the innovation fund. A separate funding bill will have to be passed that appropriates funds for these expenditures.
Keep your eye on PCOL. We'll be publishing more detailed information on the Peace Corps bill in the next few days. Read the story at:
* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.
Committee Approves Historic Change in U.S. Foreign Assistance Programs; Hyde-Lantos Millennium Challenge Act Passes 31-4
6/12/03 3:50:34 PM
To: National Desk
Contact: Sam Stratman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations, 202-226-7875
WASHINGTON, June 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Legislation authorizing a historic shift in U.S. foreign assistance programs, drafted by U.S. Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.) and Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), was approved Thursday by the House International Relations Committee.
The legislation, the Millennium Challenge Account Authorization and Peace Corps Expansion Act of 2003, was approved by a vote of 31-4.
The measure also doubles the size of the Peace Corps and includes a provision requiring the Department of State to develop an annual report on the effectiveness of all U.S. foreign assistance programs, a requirement Hyde has sought for more than a decade.
The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) expands U.S. economic assistance to high-performing countries in the developing world with a proven track record of accomplishment in the areas of economic freedom, democracy, and investments in health and education sectors.
The Hyde-Lantos MCA legislation authorizes funding levels of $1.3 billion in FY04, $3 billion in FY05, and $5 billion in FY06.
"The philosophical underpinning of the MCA, and correctly so, is that the United States must be more selective in distributing its assistance by rewarding only those recipients who willingly adopt good policies and institutions," Hyde said.
Hyde added that, of the 70 countries currently eligible for all types of U.S. development assistance, only a select number of high-performing countries will meet the strict criteria stipulated by the MCA legislation.
"Too often in the past, U.S. assistance has allowed leaders and governments to abdicate responsibility for effective governance and pursue detrimental, self-destructive, or personally self-enriching policies. Other assistance has gone to consultants or middlemen, with little results to show in the end. These failures of the past should not lead us to turn our backs on the developing world - just the opposite," Hyde said.
Under provisions of the proposed law, implementation of the program would be done through a new entity to be known as the Millennium Challenge Corporation, with a mandate to negotiate contracts with foreign governments for projects.
"Now is the time for American leadership and for America to recognize, through its aid, those countries that respect the rights of citizens, promote democracy, and encourage economic freedom and prosperity," Hyde added.
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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