I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4060 

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 

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’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. OMBUDSMAN OF THE PEACE CORPS. 

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

3 amended by inserting after section 4 the following new 

4 section: 

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

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

7 Peace Corps the Office of the Ombudsman of the Peace 

8 Corps (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘Of9 fice’). The Office shall be headed by the Ombudsman of 

10 the Peace Corps (hereinafter in this section referred to 

11 as the ‘Ombudsman’), who shall be appointed by and re12 port directly to the Director of the Peace Corps. 

13 ‘‘(b) VOLUNTEER COMPLAINTS AND OTHER MAT14 TERS.—The Ombudsman shall receive and, as appro15 priate, inquire into complaints, questions, or concerns sub16 mitted by current or former volunteers regarding services 

17 or support provided by the Peace Corps to its volunteers, 

18 including matters pertaining to— 

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

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

21 separation from the Peace Corps; 

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

23 current or former volunteers; 

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

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

2 former volunteers. 

3 ‘‘(c) EMPLOYEE COMPLAINTS AND OTHER MAT4 TERS.—The Ombudsman shall receive and, as appro5 priate, inquire into complaints, questions, or concerns sub6 mitted by current or former employees of the Peace Corps 

7 on any matters of grievance. 

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

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) recommend responses to individual matters 

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

12 ‘‘(2) make recommendations for administrative 

13 or regulatory adjustments to address recurring prob14 lems or other difficulties of the Peace Corps; 

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

16 practices, policies, and administrative procedures of 

17 the Peace Corps affecting volunteers and employees; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(4) call attention to problems not yet ade20 quately considered by the Peace Corps. 

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

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

23 that is— 

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

25 inquiries, and confidential; and 
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1 ‘‘(2) consistent with the revised Standards for 

2 the Establishment and Operation of Ombudsman 

3 Offices (August 2003) as endorsed by the American 

4 Bar Association. 

5 ‘‘(f) INVOLVEMENT IN MATTERS SUBJECT TO ONGO6 ING ADJUDICATION, LITIGATION, OR INVESTIGATION.— 

7 The Ombudsman shall refrain from any involvement in the 

8 merits of individual matters that are the subject of ongo9 ing adjudication or litigation, or investigations related to 

10 such adjudication or litigation. 

11 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.— 

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

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

14 semiannually thereafter, the Ombudsman shall sub15 mit to the Director of the Peace Corps, the Chair of 

16 the Peace Corps National Advisory Council, and 

17 Congress a report containing a summary of— 

18 ‘‘(A) the complaints, questions, and con19 cerns considered by the Ombudsman; 

20 ‘‘(B) the inquiries completed by the Om21 budsman; 

22 ‘‘(C) recommendations for action with re23 spect to such complaints, questions, concerns, 

24 or inquiries; and 
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1 ‘‘(D) any other matters that the Ombuds2 man considers relevant. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Each report sub4 mitted under paragraph (1) shall maintain confiden5 tiality on any matter that the Ombudsman considers 

6 appropriate in accordance with subsection (e). 

7 ‘‘(h) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘em8 ployee’ means an employee of the Peace Corps, an em9 ployee of the Office of Inspector General of the Peace 

10 Corps, an individual appointed or assigned under the For11 eign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.) to carry 

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

13 a personal services contract with the Peace Corps.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE PEACE 

15 CORPS. 

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

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

18 inserting after section 4A the following new section: 

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

20 PEACE CORPS. 

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

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

23 Corps (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘Of24 fice’). The Office shall be headed by the Associate Director 

25 of Safety and Security of the Peace Corps, who shall be 
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1 appointed by and report directly to the Director of the 

2 Peace Corps. 

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

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

5 security activities of the Peace Corps, including back6 ground checks of volunteers and staff, safety and security 

7 of volunteers and staff (including training), safety and se8 curity of facilities, security of information technology, and 

9 other responsibilities as required by the Director. 

10 ‘‘(c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that— 

12 ‘‘(1) the Associate Director of Safety and Secu13 rity of the Peace Corps, as appointed pursuant to 

14 subsection (a) of this section, should assign a Peace 

15 Corps country security coordinator for each country 

16 where the Peace Corps has a program of volunteer 

17 service for the purposes of carrying out the field re18 sponsibilities of the Office established under sub19 section (a); and 

20 ‘‘(2) each country security coordinator— 

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

22 the Peace Corps country director in each such 

23 country; 

24 ‘‘(B) should report directly to the Asso25 ciate Director of Safety and Security of the 
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1 Peace Corps, as appointed pursuant to sub2 section (a) of this section, on all matters of im3 portance as the country security coordinator 

4 considers necessary; 

5 ‘‘(C) should be responsible for coordinating 

6 with the regional security officer of the Peace 

7 Corps responsible for the country to which such 

8 country security officer is assigned; and 

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

10 has access to information, including classified 

11 information, relating to the possible threats 

12 against Peace Corps volunteers.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. OFFICE OF MEDICAL SERVICES OF THE PEACE 

14 CORPS. 

15 (a) REPORT ON MEDICAL SCREENING AND PLACE16 MENT COORDINATION.—Not later than 120 days after the 

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

18 Peace Corps shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

19 committees a report that— 

20 (1) describes the medical screening procedures 

21 and guidelines used by the office responsible for 

22 medical services of the Peace Corps to determine 

23 whether an applicant for Peace Corps service has 

24 worldwide clearance, limited clearance, a deferral pe-
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1 riod, or is not medically, including psychologically, 

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

3 (2) describes the procedures and guidelines 

4 used by the Peace Corps to ensure that applicants 

5 for Peace Corps service are matched with a host 

6 country where the applicant, reasonable accommoda7 tions notwithstanding, can complete at least two 

8 years of volunteer service without interruption due 

9 to foreseeable medical conditions; and 

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

11 through 2003 and the first six months of fiscal year 

12 2004, states the number of— 

13 (A) medical screenings of applicants con14 ducted; 

15 (B) applicants who have received world16 wide clearance, limited clearance, deferral peri17 ods, and medical disqualifications to serve; 

18 (C) appeals to the Medical Screening Re19 view Board of the Peace Corps and the number 

20 of times that an initial screening decision was 

21 upheld; 

22 (D) requests to the head of the office re23 sponsible for medical services of the Peace 

24 Corps for reconsideration of a decision of the 

25 Medical Screening Review Board and the num-
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1 ber of times that the decision of the Medical 

2 Screening Review Board was upheld by the 

3 head of such office; 

4 (E) Peace Corps volunteers who became 

5 medically qualified to serve because of a deci6 sion of the Medical Screening Review Board 

7 and who were later evacuated or terminated 

8 their service early due to medical reasons; 

9 (F) Peace Corps volunteers who became 

10 medically qualified to serve because of a deci11 sion of the head of the office responsible for 

12 medical services of the Peace Corps and who 

13 were later evacuated or terminated their service 

14 early due to medical reasons; 

15 (G) Peace Corps volunteers who the agency 

16 has had to separate from service due to the dis17 covery of undisclosed medical information; and 

18 (H) Peace Corps volunteers who have ter19 minated their service early due to medical, in20 cluding psychological, reasons. 

21 (b) DEFINITION.—In subsection (a), the term ‘‘ap22 propriate congressional committees’’ means the Com23 mittee on International Relations of the House of Rep24 resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

25 the Senate. 
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1 (c) FULL TIME DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL SERVICES.— 

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

3 is amended by adding at the end the following new para4 graph: 

5 ‘‘(5) The Director of the Peace Corps shall en6 sure that the head of the office responsible for med7 ical services of the Peace Corps does not occupy any 

8 other position in the Peace Corps.’’. 

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

10 ASSIGNMENTS OF VOLUNTEERS OF THE 

11 PEACE CORPS. 

12 (a) REPORT BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL.— 

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

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp15 troller General shall submit to the appropriate con16 gressional committees a report on the effects of the 

17 limitation on the duration of employment, appoint18 ment, or assignment of officers and employees of the 

19 Peace Corps under section 7 of the Peace Corps Act 

20 (22 U.S.C. 2506) on the ability of the Peace Corps 

21 to effectively manage Peace Corps operations. 

22 (2) CONTENTS.—The report described in para23 graph (1) shall include— 

24 (A) a description of such limitation; 
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1 (B) a description of the history of such 

2 limitation and the purposes for which it was en3 acted and amended; 

4 (C) an analysis of the impact of such limi5 tation on the ability of the Peace Corps to re6 cruit capable volunteers, establish productive 

7 and worthwhile assignments for volunteers, pro8 vide for the health, safety, and security of vol9 unteers, and, as declared in section 2(a) of the 

10 Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501(a)), ‘‘pro11 mote a better understanding of the American 

12 people on the part of the peoples served and a 

13 better understanding of other peoples on the 

14 part of the American people’’; 

15 (D) an assessment of whether the applica16 tion of such limitation has accomplished the ob17 jectives for which it was intended; and 

18 (E) recommendations, if any, for legisla19 tion to amend provisions of the Peace Corps 

20 Act relating to such limitation. 

21 (b) REPORT ON WORK ASSIGNMENTS OF VOLUN22 TEERS.— 

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

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Di25 rector of the Peace Corps shall submit to the appro-
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1 priate congressional committees a report on the ex2 tent to which the work assignments of Peace Corps 

3 volunteers fulfill the commitment of the Peace Corps 

4 to ensuring that such assignments are well devel5 oped, with clear roles and expectations, and that vol6 unteers are well-suited for their assignments. 

7 (2) CONTENTS.—The report described in para8 graph (1) shall include— 

9 (A) an assessment of the extent to which 

10 agreements between the Peace Corps and host 

11 countries delineate clear roles for volunteers in 

12 assisting host governments to advance their na13 tional development strategies; 

14 (B) an assessment of the extent to which 

15 the Peace Corps recruits volunteers who have 

16 skills that correlate with the expectations cited 

17 in the country agreements and assigns such vol18 unteers to such posts; 

19 (C) a description of procedures for deter20 mining volunteer work assignments and min21 imum standards for such assignments; 

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

23 and security issues as well as satisfaction sur24 veys which will have been conducted after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act; and 
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1 (E) an assessment of the plan of the Peace 

2 Corps to increase the number of volunteers who 

3 are assigned to projects in sub-Saharan Africa, 

4 Asia, and the Western Hemisphere, particularly 

5 among communities of African descent within 

6 countries in the Western Hemisphere, which 

7 help combat HIV/AIDS and other global infec8 tious diseases. 

9 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro10 priate congressional committees’’ means the Committee on 

11 International Relations of the House of Representatives 

12 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

13 SEC. 6. INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE PEACE CORPS. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENT INSPECTOR

15 GENERAL.— 

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

17 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

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

19 Peace Corps’’; 

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

21 end the following new subparagraph: 

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

23 agency referred to as the ‘Office of Inspector 

24 General’; and’’; and 

25 (C) in section 11— 
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1 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or 

2 the Office of Personnel Management’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘the Office of Personnel Manage4 ment, or the Peace Corps’’; and 

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

6 the Peace Corps’’ after ‘‘the Office of Per7 sonnel Management’’. 

8 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 

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

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

11 end. 

12 (b) TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT.—The Director of 

13 the Peace Corps may appoint an individual to assume the 

14 powers and duties of the Inspector General of the Peace 

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

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

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

18 consent of the Senate, pursuant to the amendments made 

19 in this section. 

20 (c) EXEMPTION FROM EMPLOYMENT TERM LIMITS

21 UNDER THE PEACE CORPS ACT.— 

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

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

24 (A) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub25 section (b); and 
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1 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

2 subsection: 

3 ‘‘(c) The provisions of this section that limit the dura4 tion of service, appointment, or assignment of individuals 

5 shall not apply to— 

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

7 ‘‘(2) officers of the Office of the Inspector Gen8 eral of the Peace Corps; 

9 ‘‘(3) any individual whose official duties pri10 marily include the safety and security of Peace 

11 Corps volunteers or employees; 

12 ‘‘(4) the head of the office responsible for med13 ical services of the Peace Corps; or 

14 ‘‘(5) any health care professional within the of15 fice responsible for medical services of the Peace 

16 Corps.’’. 

17 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The first pro18 viso of section 15(d)(4) of the Peace Corps Act (22 

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

20 and inserting ‘‘7(b)’’. 

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

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

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

24 following new subsection: 
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1 ‘‘(d) The Inspector General of the Peace Corps shall 

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

3 Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

4 States Code.’’. 

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