I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 250

To amend the Peace Corps Act to promote global acceptance of the principles 

of international peace and nonviolent coexistence among peoples of diverse cultures and systems of government, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2003

Mr. FARR (for himself, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, and Mr. HONDA) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International 

Relations 

A BILL

To amend the Peace Corps Act to promote global acceptance 

of the principles of international peace and nonviolent 

coexistence among peoples of diverse cultures and systems of government, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Peace Corps Charter 

5 for the 21st Century Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress makes the following findings: 
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1 (1) The Peace Corps was established in 1961 to 

2 promote world peace and friendship through the 

3 service of American volunteers abroad. 

4 (2) The three goals codified in the Peace Corps 

5 Act, which have guided the Peace Corps and its vol6 unteers over the years, can work in concert to pro7 mote global acceptance of the principles of inter8 national peace and nonviolent coexistence among 

9 peoples of diverse cultures and systems of govern10 ment. 

11 (3) The Peace Corps has operated in 135 coun12 tries with 165,000 Peace Corps volunteers since its 

13 establishment. 

14 (4) The Peace Corps has sought to fulfill three 

15 goals, as follows: to help people in developing nations 

16 meet basic needs, to promote understanding of 

17 America’s values and ideals abroad, and to promote 

18 an understanding of other peoples by Americans. 

19 (5) After more than 40 years of operation, the 

20 Peace Corps remains the world’s premier inter21 national service organization dedicated to promoting 

22 grassroots development. 

23 (6) The Peace Corps remains committed to 

24 sending well trained and well supported Peace Corps 
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1 volunteers overseas to promote peace, friendship, 

2 and international understanding. 

3 (7) The Peace Corps is an independent agency, 

4 and therefore no Peace Corps personnel or volun5 teers should have any relationship with any United 

6 States intelligence agency or be used to accomplish 

7 any other goal than the goals established by the 

8 Peace Corps Act. 

9 (8) The Crisis Corps has been an effective tool 

10 in harnessing the skills and talents for returned 

11 Peace Corps volunteers and should be expanded to 

12 utilize to the maximum extent the talent pool of re13 turned Peace Corps volunteers. 

14 (9) The Peace Corps is currently operating with 

15 an annual budget of $275,000,000 in 70 countries, 

16 with 7,000 Peace Corps volunteers. 

17 (10) There is deep misunderstanding and mis18 information about American values and ideals in 

19 many parts of the world, particularly those with sub20 stantial Muslim populations, and a greater Peace 

21 Corps presence in such places could foster greater 

22 understanding and tolerance. 

23 (11) the Congress has declared that the Peace 

24 Corps should be expanded to sponsor a minimum of 

25 10,000 Peace Corps volunteers. 
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1 (12) President George W. Bush has called for 

2 the doubling of the number of Peace Corps volun3 teers in service. 

4 (13) Any expansion of the Peace Corps shall 

5 not jeopardize the quality of the Peace Corps volun6 teer experience, and therefore can only be accom7 plished by an appropriate increase in field and head8 quarters support staff. 

9 (14) In order to ensure that proposed expansion 

10 of the Peace Corps preserves the integrity of the 

11 program and the security of volunteers, the inte12 grated Planning and Budget System supported by 

13 the Office of Planning and Policy Analysis should 

14 continue its focus on strategic planning. 

15 (15) A streamlined, bipartisan National Peace 

16 Corps Advisory Council composed of distinguished 

17 returned Peace Corps volunteers and other individ18 uals, with diverse backgrounds and expertise, can be 

19 a source of ideas and suggestions that may be useful 

20 to the Director of the Peace Corps as he discharges 

21 his duties and responsibilities as head of the agency. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT25 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
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1 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 

2 of the Senate and the Committee on International 

3 Relations of the House of Representatives. 

4 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

5 the Director of the Peace Corps. 

6 (3) PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER.—The term 

7 ‘‘Peace Corps volunteer’’ means a volunteer or a vol8 unteer leader under the Peace Corps Act. 

9 (4) RETURNED PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER.—

10 The term ‘‘returned Peace Corps volunteer’’ means 

11 a person who has been certified by the Director as 

12 having served satisfactorily as a Peace Corps volun13 teer. 

14 SEC. 4. RESTATEMENT OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE PEACE 

15 CORPS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2A of the Peace Corps 

17 Act (22 U.S.C. 2501–1) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following new sentence: ‘‘As an independent agency, 

19 all recruiting of volunteers shall be carried out under the 

20 direction of the Director of the Peace Corps’’. 

21 (b) DETAILS AND ASSIGNMENTS.—Section 5(g) of 

22 the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(g)) is amended by 

23 inserting after ‘‘Provided, That’’ the following: ‘‘such de24 tail or assignment does not contradict the standing of 

25 Peace Corps volunteers as being independent from foreign
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1 policy-making and intelligence collection: Provided further,

2 That’’. 

3 SEC. 5. REPORTS AND CONSULTATIONS. 

4 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS; CONSULTATIONS ON NEW

5 INITIATIVES.—Section 11 of the Peace Corps Act (22 

6 U.S.C. 2510) is amended by striking the section heading 

7 and the text of section 11 and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 11. ANNUAL REPORTS; CONSULTATIONS ON NEW INI9 TIATIVES. 

10 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Director shall trans11 mit to the Congress, at least once in each fiscal year, a 

12 report on operations under this Act. Each report shall con13 tain information—

14 ‘‘(1) describing efforts undertaken to improve 

15 coordination of activities of the Peace Corps with ac16 tivities of international voluntary service organiza17 tions, such as the United Nations volunteer pro18 gram, and of host country voluntary service organi19 zations, including—

20 ‘‘(A) a description of the purpose and 

21 scope of any development project which the 

22 Peace Corps undertook during the preceding 

23 fiscal year as a joint venture with any such 

24 international or host country voluntary service 

25 organizations; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) recommendations for improving co2 ordination of development projects between the 

3 Peace Corps and any such international or host 

4 country voluntary service organizations; 

5 ‘‘(2) describing—

6 ‘‘(A) any major new initiatives that the 

7 Peace Corps has under review for the upcoming 

8 fiscal year, and any major initiatives that were 

9 undertaken in the previous fiscal year that were 

10 not included in prior reports to the Congress; 

11 ‘‘(B) the rationale for undertaking such 

12 new initiatives; 

13 ‘‘(C) an estimate of the cost of such initia14 tives; and 

15 ‘‘(D) the impact on the safety of volun16 teers; 

17 ‘‘(3) describing in detail the Peace Corp’s plans 

18 for doubling the number of volunteers from 2002 

19 levels, including a 5-year budget plan for reaching 

20 that goal; and 

21 ‘‘(4) describing standard security procedures for 

22 any country in which the Peace Corps operates pro23 grams or is considering doing so, as well as any spe24 cial security procedures contemplated because of 

25 changed circumstances in specific countries, and as-
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1 sessing whether security conditions would be en2 hanced—

3 ‘‘(A) by colocating volunteers with inter4 national or local nongovernmental organiza5 tions; or 

6 ‘‘(B) with the placement of multiple volun7 teers in one location. 

8 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATIONS ON NEW INITIATIVES.—The 

9 Director of the Peace Corps should consult with the appro10 priate congressional committees with respect to any major 

11 new initiatives not previously discussed in the latest an12 nual report submitted to the Congress under subsection 

13 (a) or in budget presentations. Wherever possible, such 

14 consultations should take place prior to the initiation of 

15 such initiatives, but in any event as soon as practicable 

16 thereafter.’’. 

17 (b) ONE TIME REPORT ON STUDENT LOAN FOR18 GIVENESS PROGRAMS.—Not later than 30 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall sub20 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a re21 port—

22 (1) describing the student loan forgiveness pro23 grams currently available to Peace Corps volunteers 

24 upon completion of their service; 
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1 (2) comparing such programs with other Gov2 ernment-sponsored student loan forgiveness pro3 grams; and 

4 (3) recommending any additional student loan 

5 forgiveness programs which could attract more ap6 plicants from more low and middle income appli7 cants facing high student loan obligations. 

8 SEC. 6. SPECIAL VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT AND PLACE9 MENT FOR COUNTRIES WHOSE GOVERN10 MENTS ARE SEEKING TO FOSTER GREATER 

11 UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THEIR CITIZENS 

12 AND THE UNITED STATES. 

13 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

14 of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit 

15 a report to the appropriate congressional committees de16 scribing the initiatives that the Peace Corps intends to 

17 pursue with eligible countries where the presence of Peace 

18 Corps volunteers would facilitate a greater understanding 

19 that there exists a universe of commonly shared human 

20 values and aspirations. Such report shall include—

21 (1) a description of the recruitment strategies 

22 to be employed by the Peace Corps to recruit and 

23 train volunteers with the appropriate language skills 

24 and interest in serving in such countries; and 
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1 (2) a list of the countries that the Director has 

2 determined should be priorities for special recruit3 ment and placement of Peace Corps volunteers. 

4 (b) USE OF RETURNED PEACE CORPS VOLUN5 TEERS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

6 Director is authorized and strongly urged to utilize the 

7 services of returned Peace Corps volunteers having lan8 guage and cultural expertise, including those returned 

9 Peace Corps volunteers who may have served previously 

10 in countries with substantial Muslim populations, in order 

11 to open or reopen Peace Corps programs in such coun12 tries. 

13 SEC. 7. GLOBAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES INITIATIVE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in cooperation with 

15 international public health experts such as the Centers for 

16 Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes 

17 of Health, the World Health Organization, the Pan Amer18 ican Health Organization, and local public health officials 

19 shall develop a program of training for all Peace Corps 

20 volunteers in the areas of education, prevention, and treat21 ment of infectious diseases in order to ensure that all 

22 Peace Corps volunteers make a contribution to the global 

23 campaign against such diseases. 

24 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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1 (1) AIDS.—The term ‘‘AIDS’’ means the ac2 quired immune deficiency syndrome. 

3 (2) HIV.—The term ‘‘HIV’’ means the human 

4 immunodeficiency virus, the pathogen that causes 

5 AIDS. 

6 (3) HIV/AIDS.—The term ‘‘HIV/AIDS’’ 

7 means, with respect to an individual, an individual 

8 who is infected with HIV or living with AIDS. 

9 (4) INFECTIOUS DISEASES.—The term ‘‘infec10 tious diseases’’ means HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and 

11 malaria. 

12 SEC. 8. PEACE CORPS ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

13 Section 12 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2511; 

14 relating to the Peace Corps National Advisory Council) 

15 is amended—

16 (1) by amending subsection (b)(2)(D) to read 

17 as follows: 

18 ‘‘(D) make recommendations for utilizing 

19 the expertise of returned Peace Corps volun20 teers in fulfilling the goals of the Peace 

21 Corps.’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (c)—

23 (A) in paragraph (2)(A)—

24 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

25 ‘‘fifteen’’ and inserting ‘‘seven’’; and 
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1 (ii) by striking the second sentence 

2 and inserting the following: ‘‘Four of the 

3 members shall be former Peace Corps vol4 unteers, at least one of whom shall have 

5 been a former staff member abroad or in 

6 the Washington headquarters, and not 

7 more than four of the members shall be 

8 members of the same political party.’’; 

9 (B) by amending subparagraph (D) to 

10 read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(D) The members of the council shall be appointed 

12 to 2-year terms.’’; 

13 (C) by striking subparagraphs (B) and 

14 (H); and 

15 (D) by redesignating subparagraphs (C), 

16 (D), (E), (F), (G), and (I) as subparagraphs 

17 (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), and (G), respectively; 

18 (3) by amending subsection (g) to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(g) CHAIR.—The President shall designate one of 

21 the voting members of the Council as Chair, who shall 

22 serve in that capacity for a period not to exceed two 

23 years.’’; 

24 (4) by amending subsection (h) to read as fol25 lows: 
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1 ‘‘(h) MEETINGS.—The Council shall hold a regular 

2 meeting during each calendar quarter at a date and time 

3 to be determined by the Chair of the Council.’’; and 

4 (5) by amending subsection (i) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(i) REPORT.—Not later than July 30, 2003, and an7 nually thereafter, the Council shall submit a report to the 

8 President and the Director of the Peace Corps describing 

9 how the Council has carried out its functions under sub10 section (b)(2).’’. 

11 SEC. 9. READJUSTMENT ALLOWANCES. 

12 The Peace Corps Act is amended—

13 (1) in section 5(c) (22 U.S.C. 2504(c)), by 

14 striking ‘‘$125’’ and inserting ‘‘$275’’; and 

15 (2) in section 6(1) (22 U.S.C. 2505(1)), by 

16 striking ‘‘$125’’ and inserting ‘‘$275’’. 

17 SEC. 10. PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS OF RETURNED PEACE 

18 CORPS VOLUNTEERS TO PROMOTE THE 

19 GOALS OF THE PEACE CORPS. 

20 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro21 vide support for returned Peace Corps volunteers to de22 velop and carry out programs and projects to promote the 

23 third purpose of the Peace Corps Act, as set forth in sec24 tion 2(a) of that Act (22 U.S.C. 2501(a)), by promoting 
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1 a better understanding of other peoples on the part of the 

2 American people. 

3 (b) GRANTS TO CERTAIN NONPROFIT CORPORA4 TIONS.—

5 (1) GRANT AUTHORITY.—To carry out the pur6 pose of this section, and subject to the availability 

7 of appropriations, the Chief Executive Officer of the 

8 Corporation for National and Community Service 

9 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Corporation’’) 

10 shall award grants on a competitive basis to private 

11 nonprofit corporations for the purpose of enabling 

12 returned Peace Corps volunteers to use their knowl13 edge and expertise to develop and carry out the pro14 grams and projects described in subsection (a). 

15 (2) PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.—Such pro16 grams and projects may include—

17 (A) educational programs designed to en18 rich the knowledge and interest of elementary 

19 school and secondary school students in the ge20 ography and cultures of other countries where 

21 the volunteers have served; 

22 (B) projects that involve partnerships with 

23 local libraries to enhance community knowledge 

24 about other peoples and countries; and
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1 (C) audio-visual projects that utilize mate2 rials collected by the volunteers during their 

3 service that would be of educational value to 

4 communities. 

5 (3) ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.—To be eligible 

6 to compete for grants under this section, a nonprofit 

7 corporation shall have a board of directors composed 

8 of returned Peace Corps volunteers with a back9 ground in community service, education, or health. 

10 The nonprofit corporation shall meet all appropriate 

11 Corporation management requirements, as deter12 mined by the Corporation. 

13 (c) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—Such grants shall be 

14 made pursuant to a grant agreement between the Cor15 poration and the nonprofit corporation that requires 

16 that—

17 (1) the grant funds will only be used to support 

18 programs and projects described in subsection (a) 

19 pursuant to proposals submitted by returned Peace 

20 Corps volunteers (either individually or cooperatively 

21 with other returned volunteers); 

22 (2) the nonprofit corporation will give consider23 ation to funding individual programs or projects by 

24 returned Peace Corps volunteers, in amounts of not 

25 more than $100,000, under this section; 
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1 (3) not more than 20 percent of the grant 

2 funds made available to the nonprofit corporation 

3 will be used for the salaries, overhead, or other ad4 ministrative expenses of the nonprofit corporation; 

5 (4) the nonprofit corporation will not receive 

6 grant funds for programs or projects under this sec7 tion for a third or subsequent year unless the non8 profit corporation makes available, to carry out the 

9 programs or projects during that year, non-Federal 

10 contributions—

11 (A) in an amount not less than $2 for 

12 every $3 of Federal funds provided through the 

13 grant; and 

14 (B) provided directly or through donations 

15 from private entities, in cash or in kind, fairly 

16 evaluated, including plant, equipment, or serv17 ices; and 

18 (5) the nonprofit corporation shall manage, 

19 monitor, and submit reports to the Corporation on 

20 each program or project for which the nonprofit cor21 poration receives a grant under this section. 

22 (d) STATUS OF THE FUND.—Nothing in this section 

23 shall be construed to make any nonprofit corporation sup24 ported under this section an agency or establishment of 

25 the Federal Government or to make the members of the 
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1 board of directors or any officer or employee of such non2 profit corporation an officer or employee of the United 

3 States. 

4 (e) FACTORS IN AWARDING GRANTS.—In deter5 mining the number of nonprofit corporations to receive 

6 grants under this section for any fiscal year, the Corpora7 tion—

8 (1) shall take into consideration the need to 

9 minimize overhead costs that direct resources from 

10 the funding of programs and projects; and 

11 (2) shall seek to ensure a broad geographical 

12 distribution of grants for programs and projects 

13 under this section. 

14 (f) CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.—Grant recipients 

15 under this section shall be subject to the appropriate over16 sight procedures of the Congress. 

17 (g) FUNDING.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

19 appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000. 

20 Such sum shall be in addition to funds made avail21 able to the Corporation under Federal law other 

22 than this section. 

23 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur24 suant to paragraph (1) are authorized to remain 

25 available until expended. 
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1 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 3(b)(1) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 

3 2502(b)(1)) is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘2002, and’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘2002,’’; and 

6 (2) by inserting before the period the following: 

7 ‘‘, $465,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, $500,000,000 

8 for fiscal year 2005, $560,000,000 for fiscal year 

9 2006, and $560,000,000 for fiscal year 2007’’.

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