Testimony of Hon. Thomas Petri, Member of the House of Representatives, Peace Corps volunteer in Somalia in 1966 and 1967 in favor of Peace Corps Legislation
Testimony of Hon. Thomas Petri, Member of the House of Representatives, Peace Corps volunteer in Somalia in 1966 and 1967.
Testimony of Hon. Thomas Petri
Member of the House of Representatives
Committee on International Relations
Hearing on "The Peace Corps: 10,000 Volunteers by the Year 2000"
March 18, 1998
Thank you, Chairman Gilman, for giving me this opportunity to testify. I believe that the Peace Corps continues to be one of the United States' premier international programs and I thank you for holding this hearing on this worthwhile organization.
I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Somalia in 1966 and 1967. As a recent law school graduate, I was one of three Peace Corps lawyers sent to Somalia. There were many other Peace Corps volunteers there, including teachers, health officials, and school construction workers.
I found the Peace Corps experience richly rewarding for me personally, and most returned volunteers probably would say the same thing. Quite apart from any benefits to foreign countries, the Peace Corps benefits our own country through the rich experience it provides to the Americans who serve in it. It further benefits us because our volunteers are, for the most part, the best kind of grass roots ambassadors we can have in these other lands. Finally, the direct people-to-people help it provides is among the best kinds of foreign aid.
I believe that much of the traditional foreign aid from the United States is wasted. But this is certainly not true for the Peace Corps. It provides direct help to ordinary people, and it is probably one of the most cost-effective forms of foreign aid that there is.
I fully support the President's request for a $50 million dollar increase in order for the Peace Corps to raise the total number of volunteers to 10,000 by the year 2000. The Peace Corps has always enjoyed strong, bipartisan support. I encourage my colleagues to seriously consider the President's request for this worthwhile program and I encourage the American people to consider volunteering their time in the Peace Corps. If my memories and experience are any guide, both they and their host countries will be well rewarded.
Once again, Mr. Chairman, thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak on the Peace Corps's behalf, and thank you for holding these hearings on this important subject.
