I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3456 

To amend the Peace Corps Act to reauthorize the Peace Corps, better support 

current, returning, and former volunteers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2019 

Mr. GARAMENDI (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, Ms. 

SHALALA, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, and Mr. SIRES) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Peace Corps Act to reauthorize the Peace 

Corps, better support current, returning, and former 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Peace Corps Reauthor5 ization Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FUNDING FOR THE PEACE CORPS; INTEGRATION OF 

2 INFORMATION AGE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNI3 TIES. 

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

5 2502(b)(1)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking 

7 ‘‘$270,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $298,000,000 

8 for fiscal year 2001, $327,000,000 for fiscal year 

9 2002, and $365,000,000 for fiscal year 2003’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘$450,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

11 2019 through 2023’’; 

12 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘that fiscal 

13 year and the subsequent fiscal year’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘obligation through the end of the subsequent fiscal 

15 year’’; 

16 (3) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub17 section (e); and 

18 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub19 section: 

20 ‘‘(f) In recognition of the transformative power of 

21 internet access in developing countries, the Peace Corps 

22 shall be administered to give particular attention to those 

23 programs, projects, training, and other activities which le24 verage the internet, as appropriate, for development, edu25 cation, and social and economic mobility and to develop 


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1 positions for volunteers that include such programs, 

2 projects, training, and other activities.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. READJUSTMENT ALLOWANCES FOR VOLUNTEERS 

4 AND VOLUNTEER LEADERS. 

5 (a) VOLUNTEERS.—Section 5 of the Peace Corps Act 

6 (22 U.S.C. 2504) is amended— 

7 (1) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by in8 serting ‘‘, safety’’ after ‘‘health’’; 

9 (2) in the first sentence of subsection (c), by 

10 striking ‘‘$125’’ and inserting ‘‘$417’’; 

11 (3) by redesignating subsections (e) through (p) 

12 as subsections (d) through (o), respectively; 

13 (4) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, in the 

14 first sentence, by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and in15 serting ‘‘subsection (e)’’; and 

16 (5) in subsection (m), as so redesignated— 

17 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘sub18 section (e)’’ each place it appears and inserting 

19 ‘‘subsection (d)’’; and 

20 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘sub21 section (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’. 

22 (b) VOLUNTEER LEADERS.—Section 6(1) of the 

23 Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2505(1)) is amended by strik24 ing ‘‘$125’’ and inserting ‘‘$417’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. PEACE CORPS NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

2 Section 12 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2511) 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (b)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (i) in the matter preceding subpara7 graph (A), by striking ‘‘conduct on-site in8 spections, and make examinations, of the 

9 activities of the Peace Corps in the United 

10 States and in other countries in order to’’; 

11 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

12 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end; 

13 (iii) by redesignating subparagraph 

14 (D) as subparagraph (E); and 

15 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph 

16 (C) the the following new subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(D) make recommendations for utilizing 

18 the expertise of returned Peace Corps volun19 teers in fulfilling the goals of the Peace Corps; 

20 and’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (c)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

24 (I) in the first sentence— 

25 (aa) by striking ‘‘fifteen’’ 

26 and inserting ‘‘seven’’; and 


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1 (bb) by striking ‘‘President, 

2 by and with the advice and con3 sent of the Senate’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘Director of the Peace Corps’’; 

5 and 

6 (II) by striking the second sen7 tence and inserting the following new 

8 sentence: ‘‘At least four of such mem9 bers shall be former Peace Corps vol10 unteers, and not more than four of 

11 such members may be members of the 

12 same political party.’’; 

13 (ii) by amending subparagraph (B) to 

14 read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(B) No member appointed under this 

16 paragraph may be an officer or employee of the 

17 Peace Corps.’’; 

18 (iii) by amending subparagraph (D) to 

19 read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(D) The members of the council shall be 

21 appointed to 2-year terms.’’; and 

22 (iv) by striking subparagraphs (E), 

23 (F), (G), (H), and (I); and 

24 (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

25 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(3) The Director of the Peace Corps shall des2 ignate one of the voting members of the Council as 

3 Chair, who shall serve in such capacity for a period 

4 not to exceed two years.’’; 

5 (3) in subsection (g)— 

6 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘At 

7 its first meeting and at its first regular meeting 

8 in each calendar year thereafter’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘At its first meeting each calendar year’’; and 

10 (B) in the second sentence, by inserting 

11 before the period at the end the following: ‘‘, 

12 and shall each serve in that capacity for a pe13 riod not to exceed two years.’’; 

14 (4) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ‘‘The Coun15 cil’’ and all that follows through the period at the 

16 end and inserting the following: ‘‘The Council shall 

17 hold a regular meeting during each calendar quarter 

18 at a date and time to be determined by the Chair 

19 of the Council or at the call of the Director of the 

20 Peace Corps.’’; and 

21 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub22 sections: 

23 ‘‘(k) INDEPENDENCE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

24 None of the activities or functions of the Council under 

25 subsection (b)(2) may undermine the independence or suVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Jul 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3456.IH H3456

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1 persede the duties of the Inspector General of the Peace 

2 Corps. 

3 ‘‘(l) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal 

4 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 

5 to the Council. 

6 ‘‘(m) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The 

7 Director of the Peace Corps may accept donations of 

8 funds, gifts, and in-kind contributions and use such dona9 tions without further appropriation for administrative ex10 penses relating to the functions of the Council. 

11 ‘‘(n) MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT.—The Director of 

12 the Peace Corps may enter into a multi-year agreement 

13 with a nonprofit organization that supports current, re14 turning, or former Peace Corps volunteers, authorizing 

15 such nonprofit organization to solicit donations, on behalf 

16 of the Peace Corps, solely to support the administrative 

17 expenses relating to the functions of the Council. Any 

18 agreement under this subsection shall require the non19 profit organization at issue to transfer all donated funds 

20 received under such agreement to the Peace Corps for use 

21 under subsection (m).’’. 

22 SEC. 5. USE OF OFFICIAL SEAL, EMBLEM, AND NAME OF 

23 THE PEACE CORPS. 

24 Subsection (b) of section 19 of the Peace Corps Act 

25 (22 U.S.C. 2518) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting before the pe2 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, except that the offi3 cial seal or emblem and the name ‘Peace Corps’ may 

4 be used on any death announcement, gravestone, 

5 plaque, or other grave marker of any person who 

6 served as a volunteer or as an officer or employee 

7 of the Peace Corps under such rules as may be pre8 scribed by the Director’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (2), in the first sentence, by 

10 inserting ‘‘or in accordance with the exception speci11 fied in paragraph (1),’’ before ‘‘shall be fined’’. 

12 SEC. 6. CODIFICATION OF CERTAIN EXECUTIVE ORDER RE13 LATING TO EXISTING NONCOMPETITIVE ELI14 GIBILITY FEDERAL HIRING STATUS FOR RE15 TURNING VOLUNTEERS. 

16 The Peace Corps Act is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating sections 26 through 28 (22 

18 U.S.C. 2522, 2523, and 2501 note) as sections 27 

19 through 29; and 

20 (2) by inserting after section 25 the following 

21 new section: 


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1 ‘‘CODIFICATION OF CERTAIN EXECUTIVE ORDER RELAT2 ING TO EXISTING NONCOMPETITIVE ELIGIBILITY

3 FEDERAL HIRING STATUS FOR RETURNING VOLUN4 TEERS

5 ‘‘SEC. 26. (a) Executive Order 11103 (28 Fed. Reg. 

6 3571; Apr. 10, 1963), as amended by Executive Order 

7 12107 (44 Fed. Reg. 1055; Dec. 28, 1978), as in effect 

8 on the day before the date of the enactment of this section, 

9 shall remain in effect and have the full force and effect 

10 of law, consistent with subsection (b). 

11 ‘‘(b)(1) The period of eligibility for noncompetitive 

12 appointment to the civil service provided to an individual 

13 by operation of subsection (a), including any individual 

14 who is so eligible on the date of enactment of this section, 

15 shall be extended by the total number of days that, during 

16 such period— 

17 ‘‘(A) a hiring freeze for civilian employees of 

18 the executive branch is in effect by order of the 

19 President with respect to any Executive agency at 

20 which the individual has applied for employment; 

21 ‘‘(B) there is a lapse in appropriations with re22 spect to any Executive agency at which the indi23 vidual has applied for employment; or 

24 ‘‘(C) the individual is receiving disability com25 pensation under section 8142 of title 5, United 


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1 States Code, based on their service as a Peace Corp 

2 volunteer, retroactive to the date the individual ap3 plied for such compensation. 

4 ‘‘(2) For purposes of subsection (b)— 

5 ‘‘(A) the term ‘hiring freeze’ means any memo6 randum, Executive order, or other action by the 

7 President that prohibits an Executive agency from 

8 filling vacant Federal civilian employee positions or 

9 creating new such positions; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the term ‘Executive agency’ has the mean11 ing given that term in section 105 of title 5, United 

12 States Code, and includes the United States Postal 

13 Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission, but 

14 does not include the Government Accountability Of15 fice.’’. 

16 SEC. 7. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT WITH BUREAU OF 

17 DIPLOMATIC SECURITY OF THE DEPART18 MENT OF STATE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—At least once every five years, the 

20 Director of the Peace Corps and the Assistant Secretary 

21 of State for Diplomatic Security shall review the Memo22 randum of Agreement between the Bureau of Diplomatic 

23 Security of the Department of State and the Peace Corps 

24 regarding security support and protection of Peace Corps 


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1 volunteers and staff members abroad and update such 

2 Memorandum of Agreement, as appropriate. 

3 (b) NOTIFICATION.—The Director of the Peace Corps 

4 and the Assistance Secretary of State for Diplomatic Se5 curity shall jointly submit to the Committee on Foreign 

6 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Com7 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate any update to 

8 the Memorandum of Agreement under subsection (a) not 

9 later than 30 days before such update shall take effect. 

10 SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION REGARDING ELIGIBILITY OF 

11 UNITED STATES NATIONALS. 

12 The Peace Corps Act is amended— 

13 (1) in section 7(a)(5) (22 U.S.C. 2506(a)(5)), 

14 by inserting ‘‘or nationals of the United States’’ 

15 after ‘‘citizens’’ each place such term appears; 

16 (2) in section 8(b) (22 U.S.C. 2507(b)), by in17 serting ‘‘or nationals of the United States’’ after 

18 ‘‘citizens’’; 

19 (3) in section 10(b) (22 U.S.C. 2509(b)), by in20 serting ‘‘, national of the United States,’’ after ‘‘cit21 izen’’; 

22 (4) in section 12(g) (22 U.S.C. 2511(g), by in23 serting ‘‘or nationals of the United’’ after ‘‘citizens’’; 

24 and 


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1 (5) in section 27 (as redesignated pursuant to 

2 section 6 of this Act)— 

3 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (5) 

4 through (8) as paragraphs (6) through (9), re5 spectively; and 

6 (B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

7 following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(5) The term ‘national’ has the meaning given 

9 such term in section 101(a)(22)(B) of the Immigra10 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

11 1101(a)(22)(B)).’’. 

12 SEC. 9. WORKERS COMPENSATION FOR PEACE CORPS VOL13 UNTEERS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8142 of title 5, United 

15 States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (c)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘GS–7’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘GS–11’’; and 

19 (B) by striking paragraph (2) (and redes20 ignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs 

21 (2) and (3), respectively); and 

22 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘subsection 

23 (c)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)(2)’’. 

24 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub25 section (a)(1)(A) shall apply to any volunteer (as that 


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1 term is defined in subsection (a) of section 8142 of title 

2 5, United States Code) with respect to whom benefits 

3 under chapter 81 of such title commence, by operation of 

4 such section, on or after the date of the enactment of this 

5 Act. 

6 SEC. 10. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

7 The Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in section 7 (22 U.S.C. 2506)— 

10 (A) in subsection (a), by moving para11 graphs (7) and (8) two ems to the left; and 

12 (B) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub13 section (b); 

14 (2) in section 8A(d)(2) (22 U.S.C. 

15 2507a(d)(2)), insert ‘‘the’’ before ‘‘information’’; 

16 (3) in section 8C (22 U.S.C. 2507c), in the 

17 heading of subsection (a), by striking ‘‘VICTIMS’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘VICTIM’’; 

19 (4) in section 8E (22 U.S.C. 2507e)— 

20 (A) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘sub21 section (c),,’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c),’’; 

22 and 

23 (B) in subsection (e)(1)(F), by striking 

24 ‘‘Corp’s’’ and inserting ‘‘Corps’ ’’; 


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1 (5) in section 9 (22 U.S.C. 2508), by striking 

2 ‘‘Act proceedings’’ and inserting ‘‘Act. Removal pro3 ceedings’’; 

4 (6) in section 10 (22 U.S.C. 2509)— 

5 (A) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘section 

6 3709 of the Revised Statutes of the United 

7 States, as amended, section 302 of the Federal 

8 Property and Administrative Services Act of 

9 1949’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 3101(a), 

10 3101(c), 3104, 3106, 3301(b)(2), and 6101 of 

11 title 41, United States Code’’; and 

12 (B) in subsection (j), in the first sentence, 

13 by striking the second period; 

14 (7) in section 15(c) (22 U.S.C. 2514(c)), in the 

15 first sentence, by striking ‘‘that Act’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘that subchapter’’; 

17 (8) in section 23 (22 U.S.C. 2520), by striking 

18 ‘‘Universal Military Training and Service Act’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. 

20 3801 et seq.)’’; and 

21 (9) in section 27 (as redesignated pursuant to 

22 section 6 of this Act)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (6) (as redesignated pur24 suant to section 8 of this Act), by striking 

25 ‘‘5(m)’’ and inserting ‘‘5(n)’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (9) (as redesignated pur2 suant to section 8 of this Act)— 

3 (i) by redesignating clauses (i) and 

4 (ii) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respec5 tively; and 

6 (ii) in subparagraph (A), as so redes7 ignated, by striking ‘‘section 5(f)’’ and in8 serting ‘‘section 5(e)’’. 

Æ 


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