July 5, 2003 - NPCA Advocacy Listserv: Congressional Funding for the Peace Corps in Trouble
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July 5, 2003 - NPCA Advocacy Listserv: Congressional Funding for the Peace Corps in Trouble
Congressional Funding for the Peace Corps in Trouble
Read and comment on this story from the NPCA Advocacy Listserv that the Appropriations Committees of both the House and the Senate have released their recommended spending levels to their subcommittees for Fiscal Year 2004 that set virtual ceilings for each appropriations bill.
The President has requested $359 million for the Peace Corps for FY 2004 which begins October 1, 2003. We need your help to ensure that Congress - at a minimum -- fully funds President Bush's request for $359 million for the Peace Corps included in the FY2004 foreign operations appropriations bill.
RPCVs should call their Representatives and Senators and ask that they fully fund the request for $359 million for the Peace Corps in the FY2004 foreign operations appropriations bill. It is particularly important to take this action if you are a constituent of a Representative or Senator on one of the Foreign Operations Subcommittees. The list of members is printed further down the page. Click the link below to get contact information for your Senator of Representative:
Contact Information for your Senator or Representative
Read the story at:
1. FUNDING TROUBLE FOR PEACE CORPS AND OTHER FOREIGN ASSISTANCE*
* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.
1. FUNDING TROUBLE FOR PEACE CORPS AND OTHER FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
The Appropriations Committees of both the House and the Senate have released their recommended spending levels to their subcommittees for Fiscal Year 2004. These recommendations - referred to as the 302(b) allocations - set virtual ceilings for each appropriations bill.
President Bush requested $18.889 billion for the Foreign Operations Account, which provides funding for the Peace Corps, the Agency for International Development, the Millennium Challenge Account, the President's new initiatives on HIV/AIDS, and other humanitarian and development assistance. The House Foreign Operations Subcommittee was allocated $17.120 billion. That is $1.769 billion below the President's request. The Senate Foreign Operations Subcommittee was allocated $18.093 billion. This is better than what happened on the House side, but it is still $796 million below the President's request.
The Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark-up its FY2004 foreign operations appropriations bill on July 10. We expect that the Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee will also hold a mark-up of its foreign operations bill early this summer. The NPCA would like to see full funding of $18.889 billion restored to the foreign operations account.
We are especially concerned about the FY2004 Peace Corps budget because Congress did not fully fund the President's Peace Corps budget request for FY2003, the current fiscal year. The President has requested $359 million for the Peace Corps for FY 2004, which begins October 1, 2003 and runs through September 30, 2004. We need your help to ensure that Congress - at a minimum -- fully funds this request for $359 million for the Peace Corps and includes that funding in the FY2004 foreign operations appropriations bill.
The NPCA sent an action alert on May 15, asking you to contact your Members of Congress in support of the FY2004 Peace Corps budget. If you have not already done so, please act now. It is particularly important to take this action if you are a constituent of a Representative or Senator on one of the Foreign Operations Subcommittees. A copy of the May 15 NPCA Action Alert is at (http://www.rpcv.org/pages/sitepage.cfm?id=769). Contact information for key staffers of members of the Foreign Operations Subcommittees is at (http://www.rpcv.org/pages/sitepage.cfm?id=785).
HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON FOREIGN OPERATIONS
Contact information
MAJORITY:
Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), Chairman
Joe Knollenberg (R-MI)
Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
Roger F. Wicker (R-MS), Vice Chair
Henry Bonilla (R-TX)
David Vitter (R-LA)
Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL)
Ander Crenshaw (R-FL)
MINORITY:
Nita M. Lowey (D-NY), Ranking
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick (D-MI)
Steven R. Rothman (D-NJ)
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
SUBCOMMITTE ON FOREIGN OPERATIONS
Contact information
MAJORITY:
Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chairman
Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO)
Christopher Bond (R-MO)
Mike DeWine (R-OH)
MINORITY:
Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ranking
Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
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7/2/03
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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; NPCA; Congress; Advocacy
PCOL6594
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Yea,
Write them for funding for Post Service issues so Peace Corps is a more quality orientated program. Health Care, Safety and Attrition Rates should be funded correctly before more money is pumped at the program. I have called Mitch McConnell's office and asked that his wife and him talk about coordinating the DOL and office of Peace Corps Medical Services with funding.
More funding and more Volunteers to Islamic Countries and Peace Corps wants to continue to send volunteers out by themselves with limiited resources. They should have another volunteer with each assignment period. That is preventative safety, health and support. Leahy and McConnell should acknowledge the fact that 20 plus volunteers have been killed, died or are missing since 1996. That a GAO Report has been done safety.
Fund the quality of the program. Don't fund reckless funding with high attrition rates, safety lapses, and high health care costs to the governement,the program, and utlimately to the volunteers who serve the program. Keep focused on us the volunteers and you folks will do the right thing.