108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4060
AN ACT
To amend the Peace Corps Act to establish an Om-
budsman and an Office of Safety and Security of
the Peace Corps, and for other purposes.
108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4060
AN ACT
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Health, Safety, and
Security of Peace Corps Volunteers Act of 2004’’.
SEC. 2. OMBUDSMAN OF THE PEACE CORPS.
The Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) is
amended by inserting after section 4 the following new
section:
‘‘SEC. 4A. OMBUDSMAN OF THE PEACE CORPS.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the
Peace Corps the Office of the Ombudsman of the Peace
Corps (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘Of-
fice’). The Office shall be headed by the Ombudsman of
the Peace Corps (hereinafter in this section referred to
as the ‘Ombudsman’), who shall be appointed by and re-
port directly to the Director of the Peace Corps.
‘‘(b) VOLUNTEER COMPLAINTS AND OTHER MAT-
TERS.—The Ombudsman shall receive and, as appro-
priate, inquire into complaints, questions, or concerns sub-
mitted by current or former volunteers regarding services
or support provided by the Peace Corps to its volunteers,
including matters pertaining to—
‘‘(1) the safety and security of volunteers;
‘‘(2) due process, including processes relating to
separation from the Peace Corps;
‘‘(3) benefits and assistance that may be due to
current or former volunteers;
‘‘(4) medical or other health-related assistance;
and
‘‘(5) access to files and records of current or
former volunteers.
‘‘(c) EMPLOYEE COMPLAINTS
AND OTHER MAT-
TERS.—The Ombudsman shall receive and, as appro-
priate, inquire into complaints, questions, or concerns sub-
mitted by current or former employees of the Peace Corps
on any matters of grievance.
‘‘(d) 
ADDITIONAL
DUTIES.—The 
Ombudsman
shall—
‘‘(1) recommend responses to individual matters
received under subsections (b) and (c);
‘‘(2) make recommendations for administrative
or regulatory adjustments to address recurring prob-
lems or other difficulties of the Peace Corps;
‘‘(3) identify systemic issues that relate to the
practices, policies, and administrative procedures of
the Peace Corps affecting volunteers and employees;
and
‘‘(4) call attention to problems not yet ade-
quately considered by the Peace Corps.
‘‘(e) STANDARDS OF OPERATION.—The Ombudsman
shall carry out the duties under this section in a manner
that is—
‘‘(1) independent, impartial in the conduct of
inquiries, and confidential; and
‘‘(2) consistent with the revised Standards for
the Establishment and Operation of Ombudsman
Offices (August 2003) as endorsed by the American
Bar Association.
‘‘(f) INVOLVEMENT IN MATTERS SUBJECT TO ONGO-
ING ADJUDICATION, LITIGATION, OR INVESTIGATION.—
The Ombudsman shall refrain from any involvement in the
merits of individual matters that are the subject of ongo-
ing adjudication or litigation, or investigations related to
such adjudication or litigation.
‘‘(g) REPORTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this section, and
semiannually thereafter, the Ombudsman shall sub-
mit to the Director of the Peace Corps, the Chair of
the Peace Corps National Advisory Council, and
Congress a report containing a summary of—
‘‘(A) the complaints, questions, and con-
cerns considered by the Ombudsman;
‘‘(B) the inquiries completed by the Om-
budsman;
‘‘(C) recommendations for action with re-
spect to such complaints, questions, concerns,
or inquiries; and
‘‘(D) any other matters that the Ombuds-
man considers relevant.
‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Each report sub-
mitted under paragraph (1) shall maintain confiden-
tiality on any matter that the Ombudsman considers
appropriate in accordance with subsection (e).
‘‘(h) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘em-
ployee’ means an employee of the Peace Corps, an em-
ployee of the Office of Inspector General of the Peace
Corps, an individual appointed or assigned under the For-
eign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.) to carry
out functions under this Act, or an individual subject to
a personal services contract with the Peace Corps.’’.
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE PEACE
CORPS.
The Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.), as
amended by section 2 of this Act, is further amended by
inserting after section 4A the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 4B. OFFICE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE
PEACE CORPS.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the
Peace Corps the Office of Safety and Security of the Peace
Corps (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘Of-
fice’). The Office shall be headed by the Associate Director
of Safety and Security of the Peace Corps, who shall be
appointed by and report directly to the Director of the
Peace Corps.
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Office established
under subsection (a) shall be responsible for all safety and
security activities of the Peace Corps, including
background checks of volunteers and staff, safety and se-
curity of volunteers and staff (including training), safety
and security of facilities, security of information tech-
nology, and other responsibilities as required by the Direc-
tor.
‘‘(c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that—
‘‘(1) the Associate Director of Safety and Secu-
rity of the Peace Corps, as appointed pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section, should assign a Peace
Corps country security coordinator for each country
where the Peace Corps has a program of volunteer
service for the purposes of carrying out the field re-
sponsibilities of the Office established under sub-
section (a); and
‘‘(2) each country security coordinator—
‘‘(A) should be under the supervision of
the Peace Corps country director in each such
country;
‘‘(B) should report directly to the Asso-
ciate Director of Safety and Security of the
Peace Corps, as appointed pursuant to sub-
section (a) of this section, on all matters of im-
portance as the country security coordinator
considers necessary;
‘‘(C) should be responsible for coordinating
with the regional security officer of the Peace
Corps responsible for the country to which such
country security officer is assigned; and
‘‘(D) should be a United States citizen who
has access to information, including classified
information, relating to the possible threats
against Peace Corps volunteers.’’.
SEC. 4. OFFICE OF MEDICAL SERVICES OF THE PEACE
CORPS.
(a) REPORT ON MEDICAL SCREENING AND PLACE-
MENT COORDINATION.—Not later than 120 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the
Peace Corps shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that—
(1) describes the medical screening procedures
and guidelines used by the office responsible for
medical services of the Peace Corps to determine
whether an applicant for Peace Corps service has
worldwide clearance, limited clearance, a deferral pe-
riod, or is not medically, including psychologically,
qualified to serve in the Peace Corps as a volunteer;
(2) describes the procedures and guidelines
used by the Peace Corps to ensure that applicants
for Peace Corps service are matched with a host
country where the applicant, reasonable accommoda-
tions notwithstanding, can complete at least two
years of volunteer service without interruption due
to foreseeable medical conditions; and
(3) with respect to each of the fiscal years 2000
through 2003 and the first six months of fiscal year
2004, states the number of—
(A) medical screenings of applicants con-
ducted;
(B) applicants who have received world-
wide clearance, limited clearance, deferral peri-
ods, and medical disqualifications to serve;
(C) appeals to the Medical Screening Re-
view Board of the Peace Corps and the number
of times that an initial screening decision was
upheld;
(D) requests to the head of the office re-
sponsible for medical services of the Peace
Corps for reconsideration of a decision of the
Medical Screening Review Board and the num-
ber of times that the decision of the Medical
Screening Review Board was upheld by the
head of such office;
(E) Peace Corps volunteers who became
medically qualified to serve because of a deci-
sion of the Medical Screening Review Board
and who were later evacuated or terminated
their service early due to medical reasons;
(F) Peace Corps volunteers who became
medically qualified to serve because of a deci-
sion of the head of the office responsible for
medical services of the Peace Corps and who
were later evacuated or terminated their service
early due to medical reasons;
(G) Peace Corps volunteers who the agency
has had to separate from service due to the dis-
covery of undisclosed medical information; and
(H) Peace Corps volunteers who have ter-
minated their service early due to medical, in-
cluding psychological, reasons.
(b) DEFINITION.—In subsection (a), the term ‘‘ap-
propriate congressional committees’’ means the Com-
mittee on International Relations of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the Senate.
(c) FULL TIME DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL SERVICES.—
Section 4(c) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2503(c))
is amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(5) The Director of the Peace Corps shall ensure
that the head of the office responsible for medical services
of the Peace Corps does not occupy any other position in
the Peace Corps.’’.
SEC. 5. REPORTS ON THE ‘‘FIVE YEAR RULE’’ AND ON WORK
ASSIGNMENTS 
OF 
VOLUNTEERS 
OF 
THE
PEACE CORPS.
(a) REPORT BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than one year
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp-
troller General shall submit to the appropriate con-
gressional committees a report on the effects of the
limitation on the duration of employment, appoint-
ment, or assignment of officers and employees of the
Peace Corps under section 7 of the Peace Corps Act
(22 U.S.C. 2506) on the ability of the Peace Corps
to effectively manage Peace Corps operations.
(2) CONTENTS.—The report described in para-
graph (1) shall include—
(A) a description of such limitation;
(B) a description of the history of such
limitation and the purposes for which it was en-
acted and amended;
(C) an analysis of the impact of such limi-
tation on the ability of the Peace Corps to re-
cruit capable volunteers, establish productive
and worthwhile assignments for volunteers, pro-
vide for the health, safety, and security of vol-
unteers, and, as declared in section 2(a) of the
Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501(a)), ‘‘pro-
mote a better understanding of the American
people on the part of the peoples served and a
better understanding of other peoples on the
part of the American people’’;
(D) an assessment of whether the applica-
tion of such limitation has accomplished the ob-
jectives for which it was intended; and
(E) recommendations, if any, for legisla-
tion to amend provisions of the Peace Corps
Act relating to such limitation.
(b) REPORT ON WORK ASSIGNMENTS OF VOLUN-
TEERS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Di-
rector of the Peace Corps shall submit to the appro-
priate congressional committees a report on the ex-
tent to which the work assignments of Peace Corps
volunteers fulfill the commitment of the Peace Corps
to ensuring that such assignments are well devel-
oped, with clear roles and expectations, and that vol-
unteers are well-suited for their assignments.
(2) CONTENTS.—The report described in para-
graph (1) shall include—
(A) an assessment of the extent to which
agreements between the Peace Corps and host
countries delineate clear roles for volunteers in
assisting host governments to advance their na-
tional development strategies;
(B) an assessment of the extent to which
the Peace Corps recruits volunteers who have
skills that correlate with the expectations cited
in the country agreements and assigns such vol-
unteers to such posts;
(C) a description of procedures for deter-
mining volunteer work assignments and min-
imum standards for such assignments;
(D) a volunteer survey on health, safety,
and security issues as well as satisfaction sur-
veys which will have been conducted after the
date of the enactment of this Act; and
(E) an assessment of the plan of the Peace
Corps to increase the number of volunteers who
are assigned to projects in sub-Saharan Africa,
Asia, and the Western Hemisphere, particularly
among communities of African descent within
countries in the Western Hemisphere, which
help combat HIV/AIDS and other global infec-
tious diseases.
(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro-
priate congressional committees’’ means the Committee on
International Relations of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
SEC. 6. INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE PEACE CORPS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENT INSPECTOR
GENERAL.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General Act
of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—
(A) in section 8G(a)(2), by striking ‘‘, the
Peace Corps’’;
(B) in section 9(a)(1), by adding at the
end the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(X) of the Peace Corps, the office of that
agency referred to as the ‘Office of Inspector
General’; and’’; and
(C) in section 11—
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or
the Office of Personnel Management’’ and
inserting ‘‘the Office of Personnel Manage-
ment, or the Peace Corps’’; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘,
the Peace Corps’’ after ‘‘the Office of Per-
sonnel Management’’.
(2) 
TECHNICAL
AMENDMENT.—Section
9(a)(1)(U) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5
U.S.C. App.) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end.
(b) TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT.—The Director of
the Peace Corps may appoint an individual to assume the
powers and duties of the Inspector General of the Peace
Corps under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C.
App.) on an interim basis until such time as a person is
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, pursuant to the amendments made
in this section.
(c) EXEMPTION FROM EMPLOYMENT TERM LIMITS
UNDER THE PEACE CORPS ACT.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 7 of the Peace
Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2506) is amended—
(A) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (b); and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
‘‘(c) The provisions of this section that limit the dura-
tion of service, appointment, or assignment of individuals
shall not apply to—
‘‘(1) the Inspector General of the Peace Corps;
‘‘(2) officers of the Office of the Inspector Gen-
eral of the Peace Corps;
‘‘(3) any individual whose official duties pri-
marily include the safety and security of Peace
Corps volunteers or employees;
‘‘(4) the head of the office responsible for med-
ical services of the Peace Corps; or
‘‘(5) any health care professional within the of-
fice responsible for medical services of the Peace
Corps.’’.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The first pro-
viso of section 15(d)(4) of the Peace Corps Act (22
U.S.C. 2514(d)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘7(c)’’
and inserting ‘‘7(b)’’.
(d) COMPENSATION.—Section 7 of the Peace Corps
Act (22 U.S.C. 2506), as amended by subsection (c) of
this section, is further amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
‘‘(d) The Inspector General of the Peace Corps shall
be compensated at the rate provided for level IV of the
Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United
States Code.’’.
Passed the House of Representatives June 1, 2004.
Attest:
Clerk.