107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 12

AN ACT

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’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) The Peace Corps was established in 1961 to

4 promote world peace and friendship through the

5 service of American volunteers abroad.

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

7 Act which have guided the Peace Corps and its vol8 unteers over the years, can work in concert to pro9 mote global acceptance of the principles of inter10 national peace and nonviolent coexistence among

11 peoples of diverse cultures and systems of govern12 ment.

13 (3) The Peace Corps has operated in 135 coun14 tries with 165,000 Peace Corps volunteers since its

15 establishment.

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

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

18 meet basic needs, to promote understanding of

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

20 an understanding of other peoples by Americans.

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

22 Peace Corps remains the world’s premier inter23 national service organization dedicated to promoting

24 grassroots development.

25 (6) The Peace Corps remains committed to

26 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 be used to accomplish any other goal

6 than the goals established by the Peace Corps Act.

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

8 in harnessing the skills and talents for returned

9 Peace Corps volunteers and should be expanded to

10 utilize to the maximum extent the talent pool of re11 turned Peace Corps volunteers.

12 (9) The Peace Corps is currently operating with

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

14 with 7,000 Peace Corps volunteers.

15 (10) There is deep misunderstanding and mis16 information about American values and ideals in

17 many parts of the world, particularly those with sub18 stantial Muslim populations, and a greater Peace

19 Corps presence in such places could foster greater

20 understanding and tolerance.

21 (11) Congress has declared that the Peace

22 Corps should be expanded to sponsor a minimum of

23 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 undertaken primarily

20 by 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
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1 Peace Corps volunteers as being independent: Provided

2 further, 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 Congress, at least once in each fiscal year, a report

12 on operations under this Act. Each report shall contain

13 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 five-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

2 enhanced—

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 Congress under subsection (a)

13 or in budget presentations. Wherever possible, such con14 sultations should take place prior to the initiation of such

15 initiatives, but in any event as soon as practicable there16 after.’’.

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

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit

20 to the appropriate congressional committees a report—

21 (1) describing the student loan forgiveness pro22 grams currently available to Peace Corps volunteers

23 upon completion of their service; and
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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 enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit a re15 port to the appropriate congressional committees describ16 ing the initiatives that the Peace Corps intends to pursue

17 with eligible countries where the presence of Peace Corps

18 volunteers would facilitate a greater understanding that

19 there exists a universe of commonly shared human values

20 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 shall be members of the

8 same political party.’’;

9 (B) by amending subparagraph (D) to

10 read as follows:

11 ‘‘(D) The members of the Council shall be

12 appointed 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

7 Corporation—

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 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 ‘‘, $362,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, $404,000,000

8 for fiscal year 2005, $446,000,000 for fiscal year

9 2006, and $488,000,000 for fiscal year 2007’’.

Passed the Senate November 20, 2002.

Attest:

Secretary.
107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 12

AN ACT

To amend the Peace Corps Act to promote global

acceptance of the principles of internationalpeace and nonviolent coexistence among peoplesof diverse cultures and systems of government,and for other purposes.