March 23, 2004 - US Newswire: Hyde to introduce Peace Corps Safety and Security Act of 2003

Peace Corps Online: Peace Corps News: Special Reports: March 22, 2004: Hearings on the Peace Corps Safety and Security Act of 2003: March 23, 2004 - US Newswire: Hyde to introduce Peace Corps Safety and Security Act of 2003

By Admin1 (admin) (151.196.183.79) on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 6:42 pm: Edit Post

Hyde to introduce Peace Corps Safety and Security Act of 2004

Hyde to introduce Peace Corps Safety and Security Act of 2004



Read and comment on this Press Release from the Committee on International Relations that Chairman Henry Hyde will introduce the Peace Corps Safety and Security Act of 2004 to create an agency ombudsman; enhance the Corps' security office; and give greater independence to the agency's Office of the Inspector General. PCOL will be reporting on the hearings tomorrow. Read the story at:

To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor

Contact: Sam Stratman of the Committee on International Relations, 202-226-7875

News Advisory:

-- Safety & Security of Peace Corps Volunteers: Hyde schedules Wednesday oversight hearing; Plans introduction of legislation to remedy problems

BACKGROUND: The president's intention of doubling the size of the Peace Corps comes at a time of heightened risk for Americans living abroad. Recent critical reports by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and an award-winning series by the Dayton Daily News illustrate uneven performance by the Peace Corps in developing safe and secure housing and worksites, responding to volunteer concerns, and planning for emergencies. Among those scheduled to testify are Walter R. Poirier, the father of missing Peace Corps volunteer Walter J. Poirier. The younger Poirier, a native of Lowell, Massachusetts, and a 2000 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, served as a volunteer in Bolivia until his disappearance in March 2001. A subsequent GAO report found that "the Peace Corps failed to properly supervise Poirier and lost track of him." Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez is expected to testify on recent policies adopted by the Peace Corps to promote the safety and security of its volunteers. Later this month, Chairman Hyde will introduce the Peace Corps Safety and Security Act of 2003 to create an agency ombudsman; enhance the Corps' security office; and give greater independence to the agency's Office of the Inspector General.

WHAT: Full Committee oversight hearing: Safety and Security of Peace Corps Volunteers

WHEN: 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, March 24

WHERE: Room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

WITNESSES: Gaddi H. Vasquez, Director, The Peace Corps; Charles D. Smith, Inspector General, The Peace Corps; Jeffrey Bruce, Editor, Dayton Daily News; Jess Ford, Director, International Affairs and Trade, General Accounting Office; Walter R. Poirier, father of missing Peace Corps volunteer; and Kevin Quigley, President, National Peace Corps Association.

Issues expected to be examined at the hearing:

-- How does the Peace Corps monitor the safety and security of its volunteers in the field?

-- Is there a standard policy on a global or country-by- country basis that requires supervisors to visit or contact volunteers in person at a specified interval?

-- How does the Peace Corps train its volunteers, especially with respect to safety and security? After several months on assignment, do Peace Corps volunteers feel that they have been adequately prepared for their assignment?

-- Is it possible to expand the presence of the Peace Corps in additional countries while taking into account the safety of Peace Corps volunteers?

http://www.usnewswire.com/

-0-

/© 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/



March 22, 2004 - House schedules Peace Corps Safety Hearings for Wednesday, March 24

House schedules Peace Corps Safety Hearings for Wednesday, March 24



Caption: Republican Henry Hyde (above), Chairman of the House Committee on International Relations, will preside at the hearings on Safety and Security of Peace Corps Volunteers.


Read and comment on this PCOL exclusive that the House Committee on International Relations has scheduled Peace Corps Safety Hearings for Wednesday, March 24 at:

House Committee on International Relations schedules Peace Corps Safety Hearings for Wednesday, March 24*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



House Committee on International Relations schedules Peace Corps Safety Hearings for Wednesday, March 24

The House Committee on International Relations has scheduled open hearings on Safety and Security of Peace Corps Volunteers for Wednesday, March 24.

The hearings will be held 2172 Rayburn House Office Building.

The hearings will begin at 1030 am and will be open to the public.

Committee Chairman Henry Hyde will preside at the hearings.

The following witnesses are scheduled to the testify at the hearings:

Mr. Jeffrey Bruce, Editor, Dayton Daily News

Mr. Jess Ford, Director, International Affairs and Trade, General Accounting Office

Mr. Walter S. Poirier, Father of missing Bolivia Peace Corps Volunteer Walter Poirier Jr.

Mr. Kevin Quigley, President of the National Peace Corps Association

Hon. Charles D. Smith, Inspector General, US Peace Corps

Hon. Gaddi H. Vasquez, Director, US Peace Corps

Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., the chairman of the House International Relations Committee, has said he wants the 1978 law that established inspector generals at most federal agencies changed to require that the president instead choose the Peace Corps' inspector general, who will then be approved by the Senate. That official also would be required to send his or her reports to Congress, which is not required now.

House officials say a more independent inspector general would better serve the interests of volunteers and keep Congress better informed about the Peace Corps operations and expansion plans.

Another idea that will be discussed at the hearings will be former Dayton Congressman and Peace Corps volunteer Tony Hall's idea for an Ombudsman for the Peace Corps, House officials said. The ombudsman would handle complaints regarding safety, medical issues, separation and access to records.

PCOL will be attending the hearings and will be reporting on the testimony.



Click on a link below for more stories on PCOL

Read the series on Safety and Security here



Leave your comments on the series below.

Read comments by RPCVs here, here and here.





Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Congress; Legislation; Safety and Security of Volunteers

PCOL10608
10

.

By RPCV (ca1462-ch01-bl08.ma-cambridg0.sa.earthlink.net - 207.69.137.207) on Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 10:37 pm: Edit Post

Nothing came of this. House members and former Peace Corps volunteers who serve as house members (everyone of them Shays, Dodd, Honda, Farr and others) are self servers and do nothing for the victims of violence. They perpetuate the problem with not passing legislation that assists the victims of violence and families who have had a person pass during the 1990's to current. Same old game with people's lives.

The above talk in this article is Rubbish, Bunk and for that matter an insult to the men and women who serve and went through a safety incident. Our congress does not work for us. It works for Peace Corps, who continues to cover up our situations, our separations, continues to severely hurt the federal careers of Volunteers who served them.

When will America and former Peace Corps Volunteers wake up to the fact that we have civil rights in this country. Eventually, they will have to understand where we are coming from. It is coming whether they like it or not.

This former volunteer has no Peace with the former volunteers, staff members and Congress persons who aid and abet perpetrators of violence against volunteers.


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: