2009.06.16: June 16, 2009: Headlines: Figures: COS - Swaziland: Journalism: Television: Obama: Congress: Appropriations: Budget: Hardball: Congresswoman Nita Lowey of New York announces on Chris Matthews "Hardball" that she will be supporting the $450 million appropriation for the Peace Corps
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2009.06.16: June 16, 2009: Headlines: Figures: COS - Swaziland: Journalism: Television: Obama: Congress: Appropriations: Budget: Hardball: Congresswoman Nita Lowey of New York announces on Chris Matthews "Hardball" that she will be supporting the $450 million appropriation for the Peace Corps
Congresswoman Nita Lowey of New York announces on Chris Matthews "Hardball" that she will be supporting the $450 million appropriation for the Peace Corps
Matthews: "Coming up, funding for the U.S. Peace Corps. We'll talk about why Congress and the president need to fulfill President Kennedy's vision, and by the way, Barack Obama's promise, to double the size of the Peace Corps. So, Congresswoman, you have the ball in your hand. Are they going to do good things on the Hill for my old organization and Maureen's old organization?"
Lowey: "Now that I know that you were a former Peace Corps person, of course I will. But, of course, there are members like Sam Farr and Congressman Petri and others who are also Peace Corps alumnae. So I am going to-and you're the first to announce it-increase it to $450 million, which will expand the Peace Corps to 20 more countries. We now have just a little under 8,000 volunteers around the world. And I am thrilled to be in a position where I can do this, and I'm sure Maureen is delighted."
Congresswoman Nita Lowey of New York announces on Chris Matthews "Hardball" that she will be supporting the $450 million appropriation for the Peace Corps
'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for Tuesday, June 16
Read the transcript to the Tuesday show
updated 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
Guest: Margaret Brennan, David Ignatius, Robert Baer, Roger Simon, Tina Brown, Maureen Orth, Nita Lowey, Lawrence O'Donnell, Ryan Lizza
[Excerpt]
MATTHEWS: Coming up, funding for the U.S. Peace Corps. We'll talk about why Congress and the president need to fulfill President Kennedy's vision, and by the way, Barack Obama's promise, to double the size of the Peace Corps. HARDBALL returns after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[Excerpt]
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL.
Ever since 1961, nearly 200,000 Americans have served in the U.S.
Peace Corps. And, as you heard me say before, I'm lucky to be one of them. There I am in Swaziland, where I was in the Peace Corps back in '68 up until 1970.
Right now, almost 7,500 Americans are working around the world to help others develop better lives for themselves and their communities.
During last year's campaign, Barack Obama promised to double the size of the Peace Corps, to about 16,000 by the year 2011, and-quote-"get Congress to really pay for it."
And Congress and the president are on track to do it. Are they?
Let's find out. Maureen Orth is a special correspondent for "Vanity Fair" and a great former Peace Corps volunteers-in fact, one of the great Peace Corps volunteers. I know that. She served in Colombia and keeps going back to continue her work. And New York U.S. Congresswoman Nita Lowey, who chairs the appropriations committee that is handling the Peace Corps funding.
So, Congresswoman, you have the ball in your hand. Are they going to do good things on the Hill for my old organization and Maureen's old organization?
(LAUGHTER)
REP. NITA LOWEY (D), NEW YORK: Well...
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: Are you going to do the right thing here?
LOWEY: Now that I know that you were a former Peace Corps person, of course I will.
But, of course, there are members like Sam Farr and Congressman Petri and others who are also Peace Corps alumnae. So I am going to-and you're the first to announce it-increase it to $450 million, which will expand the Peace Corps to 20 more countries.
We now have just a little under 8,000 volunteers around the world. And I am thrilled to be in a position where I can do this, and I'm sure Maureen is delighted.
MAUREEN ORTH, "VANITY FAIR": Oh.
(LAUGHTER)
ORTH: No kidding.
(LAUGHTER)
ORTH: I sure am.
MATTHEWS: Well, Maureen has been bugging me for weeks.
(LAUGHTER)
MATTHEWS: So I'm sure she is.
Let me ask you this. Is this going to fulfill-I like when politicians do what they say they're going to do. Congresswoman Lowey, you have done it. Now is this going to be happy that he got-is this going to say what he did-is this going to do what he said?
LOWEY: Well, I think...
ORTH: Well...
(CROSSTALK)
LOWEY: I think the money that we are putting into the Peace Corps, which is $450 million, is an increase from last year, when it was $340 million. So, we're on an important glide path.
And I have to tell you, Maureen and Chris, I recently met with the Peace Corps in Ghana. And to see these young people so enthusiastic, they are exactly what we have to do to expand the respect for Americans around the world. And it's an important part of our national security.
MATTHEWS: You know, I-I think it's a good-a good money bet, too, because, you know, I don't know what you made a month.
(LAUGHTER)
MATTHEWS: I was making two bucks a day when I was in the Peace Corps, which is...
ORTH: I think I made $60 a month, two bucks a day.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: I think it was $72 I think we made.
ORTH: Yes.
MATTHEWS: So, tell me about the Peace Corps. It doesn't cost much.
They don't get much.
ORTH: You know, Chris, the Peace Corps costs the United States, everybody in the United States, about $1.20 -- I think about $1.23. With this increase-and we're-thank you. Thank you, Congresswoman Lowey. Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
ORTH: We have been fighting so hard.
LOWEY: Thank you for your advocacy.
(LAUGHTER)
ORTH: We have been fighting so hard, but, you know, we also have the Senate now. I mean, it's not a done deal, just because...
MATTHEWS: Yes.
ORTH: ... the House is saying this. We have-we have a fight in the Senate to go.
But the Peace Corps budget is 1 percent of the foreign policy budget of the United States, which is 1 percent of the entire budget.
MATTHEWS: That's nothing.
ORTH: So, we're 1 percent of 1 percent. And for the good that we do around the world, it's extraordinary.
MATTHEWS: Congresswoman-Congresswoman Lowey, let me ask you about where they're going to go, because it seems to me that there's two kinds of Americans you can get to meet.
You can meet our fighting forces that go in when there's trouble, which they're not always nice to meet, because they're meeting trouble.
And then you get to meet pushy American tourists once in a while, loud. And, by the way, we are loud when we go places.
(LAUGHTER)
MATTHEWS: I'm loud.
We make our presence...
ORTH: No. You, Chris?
MATTHEWS: So it's nice that they meet some hard working teachers and people helping with rural development and stuff like that in a low key way, so they see that we're not all big shots. Are we going to get into the Middle East. Are we going to get into countries where we could actually have some positive influence on people like, you know, where they might learn that women are equal to men, because of the way we act with each other, things like that?
LOWEY: Well, there are currently Peace Corps volunteers in 76
countries. And this money will expand it to 20 more countries. And I
don't think the Peace Corps has made a decision, because they didn't know
that they were going to get the additional funding. But there is currently
and I want to make sure that we all understand-we currently have a GAO report that's going to do an analysis, because I'm sure Maureen and Chris would agree that the Peace Corps already does exciting things and builds friendships and understanding and respect for the United States.
But with increased technology, investment in training the Peace Corps workers in environmental activities and food security, teaching, et cetera, they can really do so much more. So I am so enthusiastic about the possibilities of the Peace Corps with this additional money.
MATTHEWS: OK. Well, I feel great to have you on the show, Maureen.
ORTH: Thank you.
MATTHEWS: And we all remember Tim. We remembered Tim the other night. It's been about a year now. We've missed him here. He was our leader and our friend and great company. Thank you for coming over, Maureen.
ORTH: Thank you.
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Story Source: Hardball
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