IB 

Union Calendar No. 273

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4060

[Report No. 108–481, Part I] 

To amend the Peace Corps Act to establish an Ombudsman and an Office 

of Safety and Security of the Peace Corps, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 30, 2004

Mr. HYDE (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Mr. 

SMITH of Michigan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform, 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 

MAY 6, 2004

Additional sponsor: Mr. BLUMENAUER

MAY 6, 2004

Reported from the Committee on International Relations 

MAY 6, 2004

Referral to the Committee on Government Reform extended for a period 

ending not later than May 6, 2004

MAY 6, 2004

Committee on Government Reform discharged; committed to the Committee 

of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
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A BILL

To amend the Peace Corps Act to establish an Ombudsman 

and an Office of Safety and Security of the Peace Corps, 

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 ‘‘Health, Safety, and 

5 Security of Peace Corps Volunteers Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OMBUDSMAN OF THE PEACE CORPS. 

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

8 amended by inserting after section 4 the following new 

9 section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 4A. OMBUDSMAN OF THE PEACE CORPS. 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

12 Peace Corps the Office of the Ombudsman of the Peace 

13 Corps (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘Of14 fice’). The Office shall be headed by the Ombudsman of 

15 the Peace Corps (hereinafter in this section referred to 

16 as the ‘Ombudsman’), who shall be appointed by and re17 port directly to the Director of the Peace Corps. 

18 ‘‘(b) VOLUNTEER COMPLAINTS AND OTHER MAT19 TERS.—The Ombudsman shall receive and, as appro20 priate, inquire into complaints, questions, or concerns sub21 mitted by current or former volunteers regarding services 
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1 or support provided by the Peace Corps to its volunteers, 

2 including matters pertaining to—

3 ‘‘(1) the safety and security of volunteers; 

4 ‘‘(2) due process, including processes relating to 

5 separation from the Peace Corps; 

6 ‘‘(3) benefits and assistance that may be due to 

7 current or former volunteers; 

8 ‘‘(4) medical or other health-related assistance; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(5) access to files and records of current or 

11 former volunteers. 

12 ‘‘(c) EMPLOYEE COMPLAINTS AND OTHER MAT13 TERS.—The Ombudsman shall receive and, as appro14 priate, inquire into complaints, questions, or concerns sub15 mitted by current or former employees of the Peace Corps 

16 on any matters of grievance. 

17 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—The Ombudsman 

18 shall—

19 ‘‘(1) recommend responses to individual matters 

20 received under subsections (b) and (c); 

21 ‘‘(2) make recommendations for administrative 

22 or regulatory adjustments to address recurring prob23 lems or other difficulties of the Peace Corps; 

24 ‘‘(3) identify systemic issues that relate to the 

25 practices, policies, and administrative procedures of 
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1 the Peace Corps affecting volunteers and employees; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(4) call attention to problems not yet ade4 quately considered by the Peace Corps. 

5 ‘‘(e) STANDARDS OF OPERATION.—The Ombudsman 

6 shall carry out the duties under this section in a manner 

7 that is—

8 ‘‘(1) independent, impartial in the conduct of 

9 inquiries, and confidential; and 

10 ‘‘(2) consistent with the revised Standards for 

11 the Establishment and Operation of Ombudsman 

12 Offices (August 2003) as endorsed by the American 

13 Bar Association. 

14 ‘‘(f) INVOLVEMENT IN MATTERS SUBJECT TO ONGO15 ING ADJUDICATION, LITIGATION, OR INVESTIGATION.—

16 The Ombudsman shall refrain from any involvement in the 

17 merits of individual matters that are the subject of ongo18 ing adjudication or litigation, or investigations related to 

19 such adjudication or litigation. 

20 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

22 after the date of the enactment of this section, and 

23 semiannually thereafter, the Ombudsman shall sub24 mit to the Director of the Peace Corps, the Chair of 
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1 the Peace Corps National Advisory Council, and 

2 Congress a report containing a summary of—

3 ‘‘(A) the complaints, questions, and con4 cerns considered by the Ombudsman; 

5 ‘‘(B) the inquiries completed by the Om6 budsman; 

7 ‘‘(C) recommendations for action with re8 spect to such complaints, questions, concerns, 

9 or inquiries; and 

10 ‘‘(D) any other matters that the Ombuds11 man considers relevant. 

12 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Each report sub13 mitted under paragraph (1) shall maintain confiden14 tiality on any matter that the Ombudsman considers 

15 appropriate in accordance with subsection (e). 

16 ‘‘(h) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘em17 ployee’ means an employee of the Peace Corps, an em18 ployee of the Office of Inspector General of the Peace 

19 Corps, an individual appointed or assigned under the For20 eign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.) to carry 

21 out functions under this Act, or an individual subject to 

22 a personal services contract with the Peace Corps.’’. 
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1 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE PEACE 

2 CORPS. 

3 The Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.), as 

4 amended by section 2 of this Act, is further amended by 

5 inserting after section 4A the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 4B. OFFICE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE 

7 PEACE CORPS. 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

9 Peace Corps the Office of Safety and Security of the Peace 

10 Corps (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘Of11 fice’). The Office shall be headed by the Associate Director 

12 of Safety and Security of the Peace Corps, who shall be

13 appointed by and report directly to the Director of the 

14 Peace Corps. 

15 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Office established 

16 under subsection (a) shall be responsible for all safety and 

17 security activities of the Peace Corps, including back18 ground checks of volunteers and staff, safety and security 

19 of volunteers and staff (including training), safety and se20 curity of facilities, security of information technology, and 

21 other responsibilities as required by the Director. 

22 ‘‘(c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that—

24 ‘‘(1) the Associate Director of Safety and Secu25 rity of the Peace Corps, as appointed pursuant to 

26 subsection (a) of this section, should assign a Peace 
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1 Corps country security coordinator for each country 

2 where the Peace Corps has a program of volunteer 

3 service for the purposes of carrying out the field re4 sponsibilities of the Office established under sub5 section (a); and 

6 ‘‘(2) each country security coordinator—

7 ‘‘(A) should be under the supervision of 

8 the Peace Corps country director in each such 

9 country; 

10 ‘‘(B) should report directly to the Asso11 ciate Director of Safety and Security of the 

12 Peace Corps, as appointed pursuant to sub13 section (a) of this section, on all matters of im14 portance as the country security coordinator 

15 considers necessary; 

16 ‘‘(C) should be responsible for coordinating 

17 with the regional security officer of the Peace 

18 Corps responsible for the country to which such 

19 country security officer is assigned; and 

20 ‘‘(D) should be a United States citizen who 

21 has access to information, including classified 

22 information, relating to the possible threats 

23 against Peace Corps volunteers.’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. OFFICE OF MEDICAL SERVICES OF THE PEACE 

2 CORPS. 

3 (a) REPORT ON MEDICAL SCREENING AND PLACE4 MENT COORDINATION.—Not later than 120 days after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 

6 Peace Corps shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

7 committees a report that—

8 (1) describes the medical screening procedures 

9 and guidelines used by the office responsible for 

10 medical services of the Peace Corps to determine 

11 whether an applicant for Peace Corps service has 

12 worldwide clearance, limited clearance, a deferral pe13 riod, or is not medically, including psychologically, 

14 qualified to serve in the Peace Corps as a volunteer; 

15 (2) describes the procedures and guidelines 

16 used by the Peace Corps to ensure that applicants 

17 for Peace Corps service are matched with a host 

18 country where the applicant, reasonable accommoda19 tions notwithstanding, can complete at least two 

20 years of volunteer service without interruption due 

21 to foreseeable medical conditions; and 

22 (3) with respect to each of the fiscal years 2000 

23 through 2003 and the first six months of fiscal year 

24 2004, states the number of—

25 (A) medical screenings of applicants con26 ducted; 
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1 (B) applicants who have received world2 wide clearance, limited clearance, deferral peri3 ods, and medical disqualifications to serve; 

4 (C) appeals to the Medical Screening Re5 view Board of the Peace Corps and the number 

6 of times that an initial screening decision was 

7 upheld; 

8 (D) requests to the head of the office re9 sponsible for medical services of the Peace 

10 Corps for reconsideration of a decision of the 

11 Medical Screening Review Board and the num12 ber of times that the decision of the Medical 

13 Screening Review Board was upheld by the 

14 head of such office; 

15 (E) Peace Corps volunteers who became 

16 medically qualified to serve because of a deci17 sion of the Medical Screening Review Board 

18 and who were later evacuated or terminated 

19 their service early due to medical reasons; 

20 (F) Peace Corps volunteers who became 

21 medically qualified to serve because of a deci22 sion of the head of the office responsible for 

23 medical services of the Peace Corps and who 

24 were later evacuated or terminated their service 

25 early due to medical reasons; 
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1 (G) Peace Corps volunteers who the agency 

2 has had to separate from service due to the dis3 covery of undisclosed medical information; and 

4 (H) Peace Corps volunteers who have ter5 minated their service early due to medical, in6 cluding psychological, reasons. 

7 (b) DEFINITION.—In subsection (a), the term ‘‘ap8 propriate congressional committees’’ means the Com9 mittee on International Relations of the House of Rep10 resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

11 the Senate. 

12 (c) FULL TIME DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL SERVICES.—

13 Section 4(c) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2503(c)) 

14 is amended by adding at the end the following new para15 graph: 

16 ‘‘(5) The Director of the Peace Corps shall ensure 

17 that the head of the office responsible for medical services 

18 of the Peace Corps does not occupy any other position in 

19 the Peace Corps.’’. 

20 SEC. 5. REPORTS ON THE ‘‘FIVE YEAR RULE’’ AND ON WORK 

21 ASSIGNMENTS OF VOLUNTEERS OF THE 

22 PEACE CORPS. 

23 (a) REPORT BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp-
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1 troller General shall submit to the appropriate con2 gressional committees a report on the effects of the 

3 limitation on the duration of employment, appoint4 ment, or assignment of officers and employees of the 

5 Peace Corps under section 7 of the Peace Corps Act 

6 (22 U.S.C. 2506) on the ability of the Peace Corps 

7 to effectively manage Peace Corps operations. 

8 (2) CONTENTS.—The report described in para9 graph (1) shall include—

10 (A) a description of such limitation;

11 (B) a description of the history of such 

12 limitation and the purposes for which it was en13 acted and amended; 

14 (C) an analysis of the impact of such limi15 tation on the ability of the Peace Corps to re16 cruit capable volunteers, establish productive 

17 and worthwhile assignments for volunteers, pro18 vide for the health, safety, and security of vol19 unteers, and, as declared in section 2(a) of the 

20 Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501(a)), ‘‘pro21 mote a better understanding of the American 

22 people on the part of the peoples served and a 

23 better understanding of other peoples on the 

24 part of the American people’’; 
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1 (D) an assessment of whether the applica2 tion of such limitation has accomplished the ob3 jectives for which it was intended; and 

4 (E) recommendations, if any, for legisla5 tion to amend provisions of the Peace Corps 

6 Act relating to such limitation. 

7 (b) REPORT ON WORK ASSIGNMENTS OF VOLUN8 TEERS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Di11 rector of the Peace Corps shall submit to the appro12 priate congressional committees a report on the ex13 tent to which the work assignments of Peace Corps 

14 volunteers fulfill the commitment of the Peace Corps 

15 to ensuring that such assignments are well devel16 oped, with clear roles and expectations, and that vol17 unteers are well-suited for their assignments. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—The report described in para19 graph (1) shall include—

20 (A) an assessment of the extent to which 

21 agreements between the Peace Corps and host 

22 countries delineate clear roles for volunteers in 

23 assisting host governments to advance their na24 tional development strategies; 
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1 (B) an assessment of the extent to which 

2 the Peace Corps recruits volunteers who have 

3 skills that correlate with the expectations cited 

4 in the country agreements and assigns such vol5 unteers to such posts; 

6 (C) a description of procedures for deter7 mining volunteer work assignments and min8 imum standards for such assignments; 

9 (D) a volunteer survey on health, safety, 

10 and security issues as well as satisfaction sur11 veys which will have been conducted after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act; and 

13 (E) an assessment of the plan of the Peace 

14 Corps to increase the number of volunteers who 

15 are assigned to projects in sub-Saharan Africa, 

16 Asia, and the Western Hemisphere, particularly 

17 among communities of African descent within 

18 countries in the Western Hemisphere, which 

19 help combat HIV/AIDS and other global infec20 tious diseases. 

21 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro22 priate congressional committees’’ means the Committee on 

23 International Relations of the House of Representatives 

24 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 
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1 SEC. 6. INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE PEACE CORPS. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENT INSPECTOR

3 GENERAL.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General Act 

5 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—

6 (A) in section 8G(a)(2), by striking ‘‘, the 

7 Peace Corps’’; 

8 (B) in section 9(a)(1), by adding at the 

9 end the following new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(X) of the Peace Corps, the office of that 

11 agency referred to as the ‘Office of Inspector 

12 General’; and’’; and 

13 (C) in section 11—

14 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or 

15 the Office of Personnel Management’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘the Office of Personnel Manage17 ment, or the Peace Corps’’; and 

18 (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, 

19 the Peace Corps’’ after ‘‘the Office of Per20 sonnel Management’’. 

21 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 

22 9(a)(1)(U) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

23 U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

24 end. 

25 (b) TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT.—The Director of 

26 the Peace Corps may appoint an individual to assume the 
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1 powers and duties of the Inspector General of the Peace 

2 Corps under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

3 App.) on an interim basis until such time as a person is 

4 appointed by the President, by and with the advice and 

5 consent of the Senate, pursuant to the amendments made 

6 in this section. 

7 (c) EXEMPTION FROM EMPLOYMENT TERM LIMITS

8 UNDER THE PEACE CORPS ACT.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7 of the Peace 

10 Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2506) is amended—

11 (A) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub12 section (b); and 

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

14 subsection: 

15 ‘‘(c) The provisions of this section that limit the dura16 tion of service, appointment, or assignment of individuals 

17 shall not apply to—

18 ‘‘(1) the Inspector General of the Peace Corps; 

19 ‘‘(2) officers of the Office of the Inspector Gen20 eral of the Peace Corps; 

21 ‘‘(3) any individual whose official duties pri22 marily include the safety and security of Peace 

23 Corps volunteers or employees; 

24 ‘‘(4) the head of the office responsible for med25 ical services of the Peace Corps; or 
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1 ‘‘(5) any health care professional within the of2 fice responsible for medical services of the Peace 

3 Corps.’’. 

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The first pro5 viso of section 15(d)(4) of the Peace Corps Act (22 

6 U.S.C. 2514(d)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘7(c)’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘7(b)’’. 

8 (d) COMPENSATION.—Section 7 of the Peace Corps 

9 Act (22 U.S.C. 2506), as amended by subsection (c) of 

10 this section, is further amended by adding at the end the 

11 following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(d) The Inspector General of the Peace Corps shall 

13 be compensated at the rate provided for level IV of the 

14 Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

15 States Code.’’.

Union Calendar No. 273

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4060

[Report No. 108–481, Part I] 

A BILL

To amend the Peace Corps Act to establish an Omthe Peace Corps, and for other purposes. budsman and an Office of Safety and Security of 

MAY 6, 2004

Reported from the Committee on International Relations 

MAY 6, 2004

Referral to the Committee on Government Reform 

extended for a period ending not later than May 6, 2004

MAY 6, 2004

Committee on Government Reform discharged; comState of the Union and ordered to be printed mitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the