II 

Calendar No. 508 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2259 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 11, 2018 

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

To amend the Peace Corps Act to expand services and 

benefits for volunteers, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Sam Farr and Nick Castle Peace Corps Reform Act of 

6 2018’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER SUPPORT 

Sec. 101. Peace Corps volunteer medical care reform. 

Sec. 102. Post-service peace corps volunteer medical care reform. 


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Sec. 103. Peace Corps impact survey. 

Sec. 104. Extension of positions for Peace Corps employees. 

TITLE II—PEACE CORPS OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY 

Sec. 201. Peace Corps volunteer access to Inspector General. 

Sec. 202. Publication requirement for volunteer surveys. 

Sec. 203. Consultation with Congress required before opening or closing overseas offices and country programs. 

TITLE III—CRIME RISK REDUCTION ENHANCEMENTS 

Sec. 301. Independent review of volunteer death. 

Sec. 302. Additional disclosures to applicants for enrollment as volunteers. 

Sec. 303. Additional protections against sexual misconduct. 

Sec. 304. Extension of the office of victim advocacy. 

Sec. 305. Reform and extension of the Sexual Assault Advisory Council. 

Sec. 306. Definitions. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

7 the Senate; 

8 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

9 the Senate; 

10 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

11 the House of Representatives; and 

12 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

13 the House of Representatives. 

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

15 the Director of the Peace Corps. 

16 (3) PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER.—The term 

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1 scribed in section 5(a) of the Peace Corps Act (22 

2 U.S.C. 2504(a)). 

3 TITLE I—PEACE CORPS 

4 VOLUNTEER SUPPORT 

5 SEC. 101. PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER MEDICAL CARE RE6 FORM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Peace Corps Act is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) in section 5 (22 U.S.C. 2504)— 

10 (A) in subsection (e), in the first sentence, 

11 by striking ‘‘receive such immunization and 

12 dental care preparatory to their service’’ and in13 serting ‘‘receive, preparatory to their service, 

14 such immunization, dental care, and informa15 tion on prescription options and potential inter16 actions, as necessary and appropriate and in ac17 cordance with subsection (f)’’; 

18 (B) by re-designating subsections (f), (g), 

19 (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), and (n) as subsections 

20 (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), and (o); 

21 (C) by inserting after subsection (e) the 

22 following new subsection— 

23 ‘‘(f) The Director of the Peace Corps shall consult 

24 with health experts outside the Peace Corps, including ex25 perts licensed in the field of mental health, and follow 


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1 guidance by the Centers for Disease Control and Preven2 tion regarding the prescription of medications to a volun3 teer.’’; and 

4 (D) in subsection (i), as so redesignated, 

5 by striking ‘‘section, and’’ and inserting ‘‘sec6 tion), and’’; and 

7 (2) by inserting after section 5 the following 

8 new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 5A. HEALTH CARE FOR VOLUNTEERS AT PEACE 

10 CORPS POSTS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ensure that 

12 each overseas post has the services of a medical office that 

13 is consistent in size and scope with the needs of the Peace 

14 Corps at such post, including, if necessary, by detailing 

15 to any such post the licensed medical staff of other United 

16 States departments, agencies, or establishments. 

17 ‘‘(b) HIRING CRITERIA.—In selecting medical officers 

18 and support staff for overseas Peace Corps posts, the Di19 rector of the Peace Corps shall hire well-qualified and ca20 pable personnel to support the effectiveness of health care 

21 for Peace Corps volunteers by evaluating each can22 didate’s— 

23 ‘‘(1) medical training, experience, and accredi24 tations or other qualifications; 

25 ‘‘(2) record of performance; 


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1 ‘‘(3) administrative capabilities; 

2 ‘‘(4) understanding of the local language and 

3 culture; 

4 ‘‘(5) ability to work in the English language; 

5 ‘‘(6) interpersonal skills; and 

6 ‘‘(7) such other factors that the Director deter7 mines appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(c) CERTAIN TRAINING.—The Director of the Peace 

9 Corps shall ensure that each Peace Corps medical officer 

10 serving in a malaria-endemic country receives training in 

11 the recognition of the side effects of such medications. 

12 ‘‘(d) REVIEW AND EVALUATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Peace 

14 Corps, acting through the Associate Director of the 

15 Office of Health Services and the country directors, 

16 shall review and evaluate the performance and 

17 health care delivery of all Peace Corps medical staff, 

18 including medical officers, to— 

19 ‘‘(A) ensure compliance with all relevant 

20 Peace Corps policies, practices, and guidelines; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(B) ensure that medical staff complete 

23 the necessary continuing medical education to 

24 maintain their skills and satisfy licensing and 


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1 credentialing standards, as designated by the 

2 Director. 

3 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director of 

4 the Peace Corps shall include, in the annual Peace 

5 Corps congressional budget justification, a confirma6 tion that the review and evaluation of all Peace 

7 Corps medical staff required under paragraph (1) 

8 has been completed. 

9 ‘‘(e) ANTIMALARIAL DRUGS.—The Director of the 

10 Peace Corps shall consult with experts at the Centers for 

11 Disease Control and Prevention regarding recommenda12 tions for prescribing malaria prophylaxis, in order to pro13 vide the best standard of care within the context of the 

14 Peace Corps environment.’’. 

15 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY

16 THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE PEACE CORPS.— 

17 (1) INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT.—As prompt18 ly as practicable, the Director shall implement the 

19 actions outlined in the agency response for all open 

20 recommendations of the Inspector General of the 

21 Peace Corps set forth in the report entitled ‘‘Final 

22 Program Evaluation Report: OIG Follow-up Evalua23 tion of Issues Identified in the 2010 Peace Corps/ 

24 Morocco Assessment of Medical Care’’ (Report No. 

25 IG–16–01–E). 


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1 (2) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.— 

2 (A) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 

3 days after the date of the enactment of this 

4 Act, the Director shall submit a report to the 

5 appropriate congressional committees that de6 scribes the Director’s strategy for implementing 

7 the recommendations referred to in paragraph 

8 (1). 

9 (B) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Not later 

10 than 180 days after the submission of the re11 port required under subparagraph (A), and 

12 semiannually thereafter, the Director shall sub13 mit a report to the appropriate congressional 

14 committees that describes the progress in imple15 menting the recommendations referred to in 

16 paragraph (1) until all such recommendations 

17 have been implemented in accordance with the 

18 agency’s response to the report referred to in 

19 such paragraph. 

20 (3) NOTIFICATION.—After the submission of 

21 each report required under paragraph (2), the In22 spector General of the Peace Corps may notify the 

23 appropriate congressional committees of any rec24 ommendations from the report referred to in paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 11, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2259.PCS H2259

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1 graph (1) that the Inspector General determines re2 main unresolved. 

3 SEC. 102. POST-SERVICE PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER MED4 ICAL CARE REFORM. 

5 Section 8142 of title 5, United States Code, is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following new sub7 section: 

8 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary shall authorize the Director of 

9 the Peace Corps to furnish medical benefits to a volunteer, 

10 who is injured during the volunteer’s period of service, for 

11 a period of 120 days following the termination of such 

12 service if the Director certifies that the volunteer’s injury 

13 probably meets the requirements under subsection (c)(3). 

14 The Secretary may then certify vouchers for these ex15 penses for such volunteer out of the Employees’ Com16 pensation Fund. 

17 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall prescribe the form and con18 tent of the certification required under paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(3) A certification under paragraph (1) will cease 

20 to be effective if the volunteer sustains compensable dis21 ability in connection with volunteer service. 

22 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection may be construed to 

23 authorize the furnishing of any medical benefit that the 

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1 ment for injury or disease proximately caused by their 

2 service in the Peace Corps in accordance with this chap3 ter.’’. 

4 SEC. 103. PEACE CORPS IMPACT SURVEY. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 1 year 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act and once every 

7 2 years thereafter for the following 6 years, the Director 

8 shall conduct a survey of former Peace Corps volunteers. 

9 (b) SCOPE OF SURVEY.—The survey required under 

10 subsection (a) shall assess, with respect to each former 

11 Peace Corps volunteer completing the survey, the impact 

12 of the Peace Corps on the former volunteer, including the 

13 volunteer’s— 

14 (1) well-being; 

15 (2) career; 

16 (3) civic engagement; and 

17 (4) commitment to public service. 

18 (c) REPORT.—The Director shall submit a report 

19 containing the results of the survey conducted under sub20 section (a) to— 

21 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

22 Senate; 

23 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

24 House of Representatives; 


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1 (3) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

2 Senate; and 

3 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

4 House of Representatives. 

5 SEC. 104. EXTENSION OF POSITIONS FOR PEACE CORPS EM6 PLOYEES. 

7 Section 7(a) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 

8 2506(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

9 new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(8)(A) The Director of the Peace Corps may 

11 designate Peace Corps positions as critical manage12 ment or management support positions that require 

13 specialized technical or professional skills and knowl14 edge of Peace Corps operations. Such positions may 

15 include positions in the following fields: 

16 ‘‘(i) Volunteer health services. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Financial management. 

18 ‘‘(iii) Information technology. 

19 ‘‘(iv) Procurement. 

20 ‘‘(v) Personnel. 

21 ‘‘(vi) Legal services. 

22 ‘‘(vii) Safety and security. 

23 ‘‘(B) Subject to subparagraphs (C) and (D), 

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1 newable appointments or assignments under para2 graph (2) notwithstanding limitations under sub3 paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) and para4 graph (5). 

5 ‘‘(C) In exercising authority under subpara6 graph (B), the Director shall ensure that all deci7 sions regarding the appointment, assignment, or ex8 tension of employees to any position designated pur9 suant to subparagraph (A)— 

10 ‘‘(i) are consistent with Federal law and 

11 Peace Corps policy; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) are based upon operational and pro13 grammatic factors. 

14 ‘‘(D) The term of any appointment or assign15 ment to any position designated pursuant to sub16 paragraph (A) may not exceed 5 years.’’. 

17 TITLE II—PEACE CORPS OVER18 SIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY 

19 SEC. 201. PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER ACCESS TO INSPEC20 TOR GENERAL. 

21 Section 8 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2507) 

22 is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

25 President’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

2 sentences: ‘‘As part of the training provided to 

3 all volunteers under subsection (a), and in co4 ordination with the Inspector General of the 

5 Peace Corps, the President shall provide all vol6 unteers with information regarding the mandate 

7 of the Inspector General and the availability 

8 (including contact information) of the Inspector 

9 General and the Office of Victim Advocacy as 

10 a resource for volunteers. The President shall 

11 ensure that volunteers receive such information 

12 at least once during training that occurs prior 

13 to enrollment and at least once during each sig14 nificant instance of training after enrollment.’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub17 section: 

18 ‘‘(c) The President shall implement procedures to 

19 maintain a record verifying each individual completing 

20 training provided to meet each requirement in this section 

21 and sections 8A, 8B, 8F, and 8G(b).’’. 

22 SEC. 202. PUBLICATION REQUIREMENT FOR VOLUNTEER 

23 SURVEYS. 

24 Section 8E of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2507e) 

25 is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b), in the first sentence— 

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘, ensure that each such 

3 plan includes a consideration of the results, 

4 with respect to each such representative and the 

5 country of service of each such representative, 

6 of each survey conducted under subsection (c),’’ 

7 after ‘‘standards for Peace Corps representa8 tives’’; and 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘and shall review’’ and in10 serting ‘‘, and review’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (c)— 

12 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 

13 ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’; and 

14 (B) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘sub15 section (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

17 sentences: ‘‘The President shall publish, on a 

18 publicly available website of the Peace Corps, a 

19 report summarizing the results of each survey 

20 related to volunteer satisfaction in each country 

21 in which volunteers serve, and the early termi22 nation rate of volunteers serving in each such 

23 country. The information published shall be 

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1 scription of the appropriate country and shall 

2 be written in an easily understood manner.’’. 

3 SEC. 203. CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS REQUIRED BE4 FORE OPENING OR CLOSING OVERSEAS OF5 FICES AND COUNTRY PROGRAMS. 

6 Section 10 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2509) 

7 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub8 section: 

9 ‘‘(k)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Di10 rector of the Peace Corps may not open, close, signifi11 cantly reduce, or suspend a domestic or overseas office or 

12 country program unless the Director has notified and con13 sulted with the appropriate congressional committees at 

14 least 15 days in advance. 

15 ‘‘(2) The Director of the Peace Corps may waive the 

16 application of paragraph (1) for a period of not more than 

17 5 days after an action described in such paragraph if the 

18 Director determines such action is necessary to ameliorate 

19 a substantial security risk to Peace Corps volunteers or 

20 other Peace Corps personnel. 

21 ‘‘(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the term 

22 ‘appropriate congressional committees’ means— 

23 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

24 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep25 resentatives; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

2 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.’’. 

3 TITLE III—CRIME RISK 

4 REDUCTION ENHANCEMENTS 

5 SEC. 301. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF VOLUNTEER DEATH. 

6 Section 5 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2504), 

7 as amended by section 101 of this Act, is further amended 

8 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(p)(1) Not later than 10 days after receiving notifi10 cation of the death of a volunteer, the President shall pro11 vide a briefing to the Inspector General of the Peace Corps 

12 that includes— 

13 ‘‘(A)(i) the available facts and circumstances 

14 surrounding the death of the volunteer, including a 

15 preliminary timeline of the events immediately pre16 ceding the death of the volunteer, subsequent actions 

17 taken by the Peace Corps, and any information 

18 available to the Peace Corps reflecting on the cause 

19 or root cause of the death of the volunteer; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) a description of any steps the Peace Corps 

21 plans to take to inquire further into the cause or 

22 root cause of the death of the volunteer, including 

23 the anticipated date of the completion of such in24 quiry; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) an explanation of why the Peace Corps 

2 has determined that no further inquiry into the 

3 cause or root cause of the death of the volunteer is 

4 necessary, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) a description of the steps the Peace 

6 Corps took to determine further inquiry was not 

7 necessary; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the basis for such determination. 

9 ‘‘(2) If the Peace Corps has performed or engaged 

10 another entity to perform a root cause analysis or similar 

11 report that describes the cause or root cause of a volunteer 

12 death, the President shall provide the Inspector General 

13 of the Peace Corps with— 

14 ‘‘(A) a copy of all information provided to such 

15 entity at the time such information is provided to 

16 such entity or used by the Peace Corps to perform 

17 the analysis; 

18 ‘‘(B) a copy of any report or study received 

19 from the entity or used by the Peace Corps to per20 form the analysis; and 

21 ‘‘(C) any supporting documentation upon which 

22 the Peace Corps or such entity relied to make its de23 termination, including the volunteer’s complete med24 ical record, as soon as such information is available 

25 to the Peace Corps. 


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1 ‘‘(3) If a volunteer dies, the Peace Corps shall take 

2 reasonable measures, in accordance with local laws, to pre3 serve any information or material, in any medium or for4 mat, that may be relevant to determining the cause or root 

5 cause of the death of the volunteer, including personal ef6 fects, medication, and other tangible items belonging to 

7 the volunteer, as long as such measures do not interfere 

8 with the legal procedures of the host country if the govern9 ment of the host country is exercising jurisdiction over the 

10 investigation of such death. The Inspector General of the 

11 Peace Corps shall be provided an opportunity to inspect 

12 such items before their final disposition. 

13 ‘‘(4) Consistent with the Inspector General Act of 

14 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), the Inspector General of the Peace 

15 Corps may independently review the facts and cir16 cumstances surrounding the death of a volunteer and the 

17 actions taken by the Peace Corps in responding to such 

18 incident. 

19 ‘‘(5) For the purposes of undertaking a review under 

20 this section, an officer or employee of the United States 

21 or a member of the Armed Forces may be detailed to the 

22 Inspector General of the Peace Corps from another de23 partment of the United States Government on a nonreim24 bursable basis, as jointly agreed to by the Inspector Gen25 eral and the detailing department, for a period not to exVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 11, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2259.PCS H2259

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1 ceed 1 year. This paragraph may not be construed to limit 

2 or modify any other source of authority for reimbursable 

3 or nonreimbursable details. A nonreimbursable detail 

4 made under this section may not be considered an aug5 mentation of the appropriations of the Peace Corps. 

6 ‘‘(6) Upon request, the Peace Corps may make avail7 able necessary funds to the Inspector General of the Peace 

8 Corps for reviews conducted by the Inspector General 

9 under this section. The request shall be limited to costs 

10 relating to hiring, procuring, or otherwise obtaining med11 ical-related experts or expert services, and associated trav12 el. 

13 ‘‘(7) The undertaking of a review under this section 

14 may not be considered a transfer of program operating 

15 responsibilities to the Inspector General of the Peace 

16 Corps.’’. 

17 SEC. 302. ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES TO APPLICANTS FOR 

18 ENROLLMENT AS VOLUNTEERS. 

19 Section 8A of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 

20 2507a(d)) is amended— 

21 (1) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION REGARDING CRIMES AND

24 RISKS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each applicant for enroll2 ment as a volunteer shall be provided, with respect 

3 to each country in which the applicant may be in4 vited to serve, with specific, aggregated, and easily 

5 accessible information regarding crimes against and 

6 risks to volunteers, including— 

7 ‘‘(A) an overview of past crimes against 

8 volunteers in such country, including statistics 

9 regarding unreported crime collected through 

10 anonymous surveys; 

11 ‘‘(B) the current early termination rate of 

12 volunteers serving in such country; 

13 ‘‘(C) health risks prevalent in such coun14 try; 

15 ‘‘(D) the nature and frequency of sexual 

16 harassment reported by volunteers serving in 

17 such country; 

18 ‘‘(E) the extent and types of services pro19 vided by the Peace Corps to volunteers serving 

20 in such country, including access to medical 

21 care, counseling services, and assistance from 

22 the Office of Victim Advocacy; and 

23 ‘‘(F) the level of satisfaction reported by 

24 volunteers serving in such country. 


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1 ‘‘(2) OPTION TO TIMELY DECLINE.—Upon re2 ceiving information described in paragraph (1), the 

3 applicant shall have the option to change the coun4 try of consideration and identify a substitute coun5 try.’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (f)(2)(B)(iii), by striking ‘‘vic7 tim advocates’’ and inserting ‘‘Victim’s Advocates,’’. 

8 SEC. 303. ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS AGAINST SEXUAL 

9 MISCONDUCT. 

10 Section 8B(a) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 

11 2507b(a)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘SARLs’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘any employee of the Peace Corps’’; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘Victim Advocate’’ and in16 serting ‘‘Victim’s Advocate’’; and 

17 (C) by inserting ‘‘and require the Peace 

18 Corps to designate the staff at each post who 

19 shall be responsible for providing the services 

20 described in subsection (c)’’ before the semi21 colon at the end; 

22 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

23 end; 

24 (3) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 

25 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 


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1 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraphs: 

3 ‘‘(7) maintains a record documenting the resignation 

4 of any employee or volunteer of the Peace Corps who re5 signs before a determination has been made regarding an 

6 alleged violation of the sexual misconduct policy or other 

7 serious policy violations; 

8 ‘‘(8) takes into account the record maintained under 

9 paragraph (7) before such employee or volunteer is hired, 

10 enrolled, or otherwise invited to work with the Peace 

11 Corps; 

12 ‘‘(9) provides orientation or information regarding 

13 the awareness and prevention of sexual assault and sexual 

14 harassment to— 

15 ‘‘(A) Peace Corps-selected host families; and 

16 ‘‘(B) a designated person of authority at the 

17 volunteer’s initial workplace; and 

18 ‘‘(10) ensures, to the extent practicable and appro19 priate, that any assault on, or any harm or injury to, a 

20 volunteer that is committed by any member of a host fam21 ily or any national of a host country that was assigned 

22 by the Peace Corps to facilitate volunteer work is— 

23 ‘‘(A) documented in an appropriate site history 

24 file and in the global tracking and recording system 

25 established pursuant to section 8H(c); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) taken into account with respect to deter2 minations regarding placements of future volunteers 

3 at such post and the provision of any funds or other 

4 benefit by the Peace Corps.’’. 

5 SEC. 304. EXTENSION OF THE OFFICE OF VICTIM ADVO6 CACY. 

7 Section 8C of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2507c) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘victim advocate’’ each place it 

10 appears and inserting ‘‘Victim’s Advocate’’; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘victim advocates’’ each place it 

12 occurs and inserting ‘‘Victim’s Advocates’’; and 

13 (3) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘(e) The Director of the Peace Corps shall include 

16 the head of the Office of Victim Advocacy in agency-wide 

17 policymaking processes in the same manner and to the 

18 same extent as the directors or associate directors of other 

19 offices within the Peace Corps.’’. 

20 SEC. 305. REFORM AND EXTENSION OF THE SEXUAL AS21 SAULT ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

22 Section 8D of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 

23 2507d) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘not less than 8 individuals 

2 selected by the President, not later than 180 

3 days after the date of the enactment of this sec4 tion,’’ and inserting ‘‘not fewer than 8 and not 

5 more than 14 individuals selected by the Presi6 dent’’; and 

7 (B) by inserting after the first sentence 

8 the following new sentence: ‘‘At least one mem9 ber should be licensed in the field of mental 

10 health and have prior experience working as a 

11 counselor or therapist providing mental health 

12 care to survivors of sexual assault in a victim 

13 services agency or organization.’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (c)— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘and implemented’’ after 

16 ‘‘sexual assault policy developed’’; and 

17 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

18 sentence: ‘‘To carry out this subsection, the 

19 Council may conduct case reviews and is au20 thorized to have access, including through inter21 views, to current and former volunteers (to the 

22 extent that such volunteers provide the Peace 

23 Corps express consent to be interviewed by the 

24 Council), to volunteer surveys under section 8E, 

25 to all data collected from restricted reporting, 


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1 and to any other information necessary to con2 duct case reviews, except that the Council may 

3 not have access to any personally identifying in4 formation associated with such surveys, data, or 

5 information.’’; and 

6 (3) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘2018’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘2023’’. 

8 SEC. 306. DEFINITIONS. 

9 Section 26 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2522) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), (c), 

12 (d), (e), (f), and (g) as paragraphs (1), (6), (2), (3), 

13 (8), (7), and (5), respectively, by arranging such re14 designated paragraphs in numerical order, and by 

15 moving such paragraphs 2 ems to the right; 

16 (2) in paragraph (1), as redesignated, by strik17 ing ‘‘(1)’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘In this Act: 

19 ‘‘(1)’’; and 

20 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3), as redesig21 nated, the following: 

22 ‘‘(4) The term ‘medical officer’ means a physi23 cian, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, or 

24 registered nurse with the professional qualifications, 

25 expertise, and abilities consistent with the needs of 


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25 

HR 2259 PCS

1 the Peace Corps and the post to which he or she is 

2 assigned, as determined by the Director of the Peace 

3 Corps.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 10, 2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 508 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2259 

AN ACT 

To amend the Peace Corps Act to expand services 

and benefits for volunteers, and for other purposes. 

JULY 11, 2018 

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 


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