The Poirier family supports the House bill, in so far as the Inspector General's office is allowed complete autonomy from Peace Corps. Every Agency must be overseen by an entity that is no beholden to said Agency for job continuance. The U.S. Constitution was set up with this idea of "checks and balances", and it is time for the Peace Corps Inspector General to be appointed by a higher authority. If this means that the members of the Inspector General's office are not subject to the 5 year rule, so be it. With longevity, if the appointments are truly based on ability and experience, the level of competence and continuity of application of safety standards, policies and protocols will not suffer due to a shuffling of personnel. We also support the creation of an Ombudsman to address the problems of all former Peace Corps Volunteers.

By Walter R Poirier (ip01.ctm.meganet.net - 209.213.76.2) on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 10:04 am: Edit Post

The Poirier family supports the House bill, in so far as the Inspector General's office is allowed complete autonomy from Peace Corps. Every Agency must be overseen by an entity that is not beholden to said Agency for job continuance. The U.S. Constitution was set up with this idea of "checks and balances", and it is time for the Peace Corps Inspector General to be appointed by a higher authority. If this means that the members of the Inspector General's office are not subject to the 5 year rule, so be it. With longevity, if the appointments are truly based on ability and experience, the level of competence and continuity of application of safety standards, policies and protocols will not suffer due to a constant turnover of personnel. We also support the creation of an Ombudsman to address the problems of all former Peace Corps Volunteers. We urge the Senate Committee to at the very least adopt the aforementioned changes to Peace Corps.

By daniel (0-1pool200-194.nas28.somerville1.ma.us.da.qwest.net - 63.159.200.194) on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 11:02 pm: Edit Post

Mr. Poirier,

Many people were thinking of you and your family today. Thank you for everything you have done and your voice in this legislation.

I support what you have said above.

This past weekend a volunteer friend visited with me here and we discussed the hearings. Our hearts and prayers go out to you and your family.

Thanks Daniel

By PCveteran (198.24.31.125) on Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 5:41 pm: Edit Post

Congress needs to move forward with this issue and the ball is now in Sen.Coleman's court. An ombudsman and an independent Inspector General's office are minimal and something everyone seems to agree on.