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[Senate Report 111-219]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                       Calendar No. 454
111th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     111-219

======================================================================

 
               PEACE CORPS IMPROVEMENT AND EXPANSION ACT
                                OF 2010

                                _______
                                

                 June 29, 2010.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

          Mr. Kerry, from the Committee on Foreign Relations,
                        submitted the following

                                 REPORT

                         [To accompany S. 1382]

    The Committee on Foreign Relations, having had under 
consideration the bill (S. 1382) to improve and expand the 
Peace Corps for the 21st century, and for other purposes, 
reports favorably thereon with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page

  I. Purpose..........................................................1
 II. Committee Action.................................................1
III. Discussion.......................................................2
 IV. Cost Estimate....................................................4
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................5
 VI. Changes in Existing Law..........................................5

                               I. Purpose

    The purpose of S. 1382 is to authorize funding for the 
Peace Corps and improve and expand the Peace Corps for the 21st 
century.

                          II. Committee Action

    S.1382 was introduced by Senator Dodd on June 25, 2009, and 
has 14 cosponsors.
    In the last year, the committee held two nomination 
hearings that focused on issues addressed in this legislation. 
On July 29, 2009, the committee held a hearing on the 
nomination of Aaron Williams to be Director of the Peace Corps 
and on March 11, 2010, the committee held a hearing on the 
nomination of Carolyn Hessler Radelet to be Deputy Director of 
the Peace Corps. In considering new leadership for the Peace 
Corps in these hearings, the committee discussed some of the 
policy choices related to expanding and strengthening the Peace 
Corps that underlie the funding and the authorities contained 
in this legislation.
    On April 13, 2010, the committee considered S. 1382 and 
ordered it reported, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute, by voice vote.

                            III. Discussion

    S. 1382, the Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 
2010, outlines some of the Committee on Foreign Relations' 
major priorities and concerns for the Peace Corps as the agency 
goes into its 50th year of existence. The last time the U.S. 
Congress passed authorizing legislation for the Peace Corps was 
in 1999, and that authorization ran through 2003. While the 
Peace Corps has seen significant growth in recent years, the 
agency is set to grow even more in the coming years and the 
committee seeks to ensure that Peace Corps grows with the 
necessary strategic focus. This legislation promotes that aim 
by supporting increased volunteer numbers, recruitment efforts 
and entry of Peace Corps into new countries, while also 
mandating important reporting initiatives.
    Founded in 1961, the Peace Corps strives to promote world 
peace and friendship by sending American volunteers to serve at 
the grassroots level in villages and towns in all corners of 
the globe. The Peace Corps provides practical assistance to 
developing countries by having volunteers contribute in a 
variety of capacities--including as teachers, environmental 
specialists, health promoters, and small business advisors--to 
improve the lives of those they serve and to help others 
understand American culture.
    Nearly 200,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps 
volunteers in 139 countries since the agency's establishment, 
and about 7,851 volunteers currently serve in 76 countries.
    Today, the importance and necessity is greater than ever 
for the Peace Corps to promote global economic and social 
development; to promote understanding and friendship; and to 
foster collaboration with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
    The three goals of the Peace Corps have not changed since 
the Agency's founding. They remain:

          1. To help the people of interested countries in 
        meeting their need for trained men and women.
          2. To help promote a better understanding of 
        Americans on the part of the peoples served.
          3. To help promote a better understanding of other 
        peoples on the part of Americans.

    As the Peace Corps reaches its 50th anniversary in 2010, 
this legislation seeks to improve the Peace Corps so that the 
Agency will be able to better achieve these worthy goals.
    The Peace Corps has been the recipient of a dramatic 
increase in funding in recent years, with a rising budget of 
$340 million in FY 2009, $400 million in FY 2010, and a budget 
request of $446 million for FY 2011. This significant increase 
in budget requires thoughtful expenditure to ensure productive 
and sustainable growth. This growth must be strategic and done 
with serious consideration for the safety, training, and 
support of volunteers.
    An ongoing area of concern for the committee has been how 
the Peace Corps chooses to expand. Namely, does the Peace Corps 
choose to expand the number of host countries where volunteers 
serve or does it add volunteers to programs in existing host 
countries? The committee recognizes that there are tradeoffs in 
this decisionmaking, but calls for the Peace Corps to report on 
strategies for distributing volunteers to countries in which 
they have maximum value-added for the host country, for the 
United States, and for volunteers themselves. Equally, the 
committee intends for the Peace Corps to systematically 
identify countries with strategic value to Peace Corps goals--
including new countries and countries with dormant programs--
and to identify countries where Peace Corps is currently active 
where it may make sense to close the program.
    Another area of emphasis for the committee is the so-called 
``third goal'' of the Peace Corps, namely ``to promote a better 
understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.'' It 
is the committee's view that this goal has not been given 
enough priority in recent years by the Peace Corps, and the 
committee supports the recent increase in funding given to 
``third-goal'' initiatives. Returned Peace Corps volunteers are 
often the loudest advocates for the Peace Corps as an agency as 
well as trustworthy ambassadors who can bring ideas and 
perspectives gained internationally to family, colleagues, 
friends, and others in the United States. The Peace Corps 
should strive to find ways to keep returned Peace Corps 
volunteers involved in the agency, involved in public service 
either in the United States or internationally, and involved in 
promoting the messages of understanding, world peace, and 
friendship. The experience of being a Peace Corps Volunteer 
should not end after the 2-year international tour of duty.
    A further area of concern is the prospect for partnerships 
with international and host country nongovernmental 
organizations and other entities. Within the traditional Peace 
Corps grassroots and community-based model of involvement, the 
committee is supportive of the Peace Corps exploring additional 
partnerships with local NGOs and community-based organizations. 
Involvement with such organizations can help promote continuity 
of programs in communities beyond the 2-year service of Peace 
Corps Volunteers. Such an approach is also consistent with the 
promotion of community-ownership of development, a principle 
which the committee supports wholeheartedly.
    Another area of committee interest considered in this bill 
is that of volunteer recruitment, selection, and placement. 
While volunteer applications have increased dramatically, the 
volunteer corps will need to be greatly expanded if the Peace 
Corps is to achieve its targeted growth. Within this expansion, 
the committee would like to ensure that the Peace Corps 
recruits effectively and efficiently from a diverse pool of 
candidates--including ethnically, socioeconomically and 
geographically. Equally important, Peace Corps recruits must 
have the skills necessary for the job for which they are 
applying, and Peace Corps must provide adequate training to 
improve those skills, including country familiarization and 
language training. The committee also emphasizes the importance 
of human resources and management support for volunteers, 
including access to adequate medical care and confidential 
methods of providing feedback to management including 
whistleblower protection. Finally, the committee underscores 
that volunteer safety must be a top priority and expects the 
Peace Corps to stringently review safety precautions for 
volunteers and to devote adequate resources and training for 
safety concerns.
    Section 3 of S. 1382, The Peace Corps Improvement and 
Expansion Act of 2010, addresses many of the above concerns by 
requiring the Director of the Peace Corps to complete a 
thorough assessment, not later than 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of the Act, to determine how best to strengthen 
the management capabilities and program effectiveness of the 
Peace Corps; to expand opportunities for Peace Corps 
volunteers; and to increase the size of the Peace Corps.
    Specifically, the Act requires the Director's assessment to 
consider the program model of the Peace Corps; current and 
future distribution of Peace Corps volunteers throughout the 
world; partnership opportunities and operations of the Peace 
Corps; and recruitment, training, and management practices of 
the Peace Corps.
    The legislation also calls on the Director of the Peace 
Corps to develop a strategic plan based upon the findings of 
this assessment within 180 days of the enactment of this Act. 
This strategic plan should include 1-year and 5-year goals and 
benchmarks as well as strategies for distributing volunteers to 
countries and consideration of ways to maintain Peace Corps 
independence while still remaining relevant to broader U.S. 
foreign policy goals.
    Section 4 of the legislation expresses a Sense of Congress 
that the President should not make more than 15 concurrent 
appointments under the Peace Corps Act.
    Finally, Section 5 of the legislation amends Section 
3(b)(1) of the Peace Corps Act to authorize to be appropriated 
such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the 
Peace Corps Act.

                           IV. Cost Estimate

                                                    April 28, 2010.
Hon. John F. Kerry,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1382, the Peace 
Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2010.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is John Chin.
            Sincerely,
                                      Douglas W. Elmendorf,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

S. 1382--The Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2010

    S. 1382 would indefinitely authorize the appropriation of 
such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the 
Peace Corps. In 2010, the Congress appropriated $400 million 
for the Peace Corps; the President has requested $446 million 
for the Peace Corps for 2011. CBO expects that funding in 
subsequent years would increase pursuant to the President's 
initiative to increase the number of Peace Corps volunteers 
serving abroad from over 7,600 today to 9,400 by the end of 
2012 and 11,000 by the end of 2016. On that basis, CBO 
estimates that implementing the bill would cost about $2.5 
billion over the 2011-2015 period, assuming that the estimated 
amounts are appropriated and that outlays follow historical 
spending patterns for Peace Corps programs.
    The estimated budgetary impact of S. 1382 is shown in the 
following table. The costs of this legislation fall within 
budget function 150 (international affairs).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             By fiscal year, in millions of dollars
                                               -----------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   2011       2012       2013       2014       2015    2011-2015
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATIONa
Estimated Authorization Level.................        446        524        536        576        621      2,703
Estimated Outlays.............................        335        493        525        561        605      2,519
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
aThe Congress appropriated $400 million for the Peace Corps for fiscal year 2010, enacted in the Consolidated
  Appropriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 111-117) on December 16, 2009. CBO assumes no additional funding will be
  provided for the Peace Corps for this year.

    Enacting S. 1382 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. 
S. 1382 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is John Chin. This 
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 11(b) of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, the committee has determined that there is 
no regulatory impact as a result of this legislation.

                      VI. Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with Rule XXVI, paragraph 12 of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill, 
as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be 
omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in 
italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 
roman).

FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Title 22--Foreign Relations and Intercourse

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                     Chapter 32--Foreign Assistance

                Subchapter I--International Development

PART I--.DECLARATION OF POLICY; DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZATIONS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                          THE PEACE CORPS ACT

SEC. 2502. PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORIZATION; APPROPRIATIONS AND FINANCIAL 
                    READJUSTMENTS.

    (a) Terms and Conditions of Authorization.--The President 
is authorized to carry out programs in furtherance of the 
purposes of this chapter, on such terms and conditions as he 
may determine.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--(1) There [are 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out the purposes of this 
chapter $270,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $298,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2001, $327,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, and 
$365,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.] is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out the purposes of this chapter such 
sums as may be necessary for such purposes.
    (2) Amounts authorized to be appropriated under paragraph 
(1) for a fiscal year are authorized to remain available for 
that fiscal year and the subsequent fiscal year.

                                  
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