I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2699 
To establish policies and procedures in the Peace Corps to provide for the 
safety and security of volunteers from rape and sexual assault, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 29, 2011 
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mrs. SCHMIDT, Mr. POE of Texas, and Ms. 
BUERKLE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To establish policies and procedures in the Peace Corps 
to provide for the safety and security of volunteers from 
rape and sexual assault, 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 ‘‘Peace Corps Volunteer 
Service Improvement Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. CONFIDENTIALITY OF REPORTS OF RAPE OR SEX-
UAL ASSAULT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Peace Corps 
shall establish and maintain policies and procedures that 
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clearly establish a process for volunteers to make confiden-
tial reports of rape or sexual assault. 
(b) PENALTY.—Any Peace Corps volunteer or staff 
member who is responsible for maintaining confidentiality 
under subsection (a) and who breaches such duty shall be 
subject to disciplinary action, including termination, and 
in the case of a staff member, ineligibility for re-employ-
ment with the Peace Corps. 
(c) INCLUSION.—In this Act, Peace Corps volunteers 
includes trainees and Peace Corps staff members include 
any employee, contractor, expert, consultant, or Foreign 
Service national employed or contracted by the Peace 
Corps, whether in the United States or in a foreign coun-
try. 
SEC. 3. SAFETY AND SECURITY AGREEMENT REGARDING 
PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS SERVING IN 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than six months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 
Peace Corps shall consult with the Assistant Secretary of 
State for Diplomatic Security and enter into a memo-
randum of understanding that specifies the duties and ob-
ligations of the Peace Corps and the Bureau of Diplomatic 
Security of the Department of State with respect to the 
protection of Peace Corps volunteers and staff members 
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serving in foreign countries, including with respect to in-
vestigations of safety and security incidents and crimes 
committed against such volunteers and staff members. 
(b) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.— 
(1) REVIEW.—The Inspector General of the 
Peace Corps shall review the memorandum of under-
standing described in subsection (a) and be afforded 
the opportunity to recommend changes that advance 
the safety and security of Peace Corps volunteers be-
fore its entry into force. 
(2) REPORT.—The Director of the Peace Corps 
shall consider the recommendations of the Inspector 
General of the Peace Corps regarding the memo-
randum of understanding described in subsection 
(a). If the Director enters into such memorandum 
without implementing a recommendation of the In-
spector General, the Director shall submit to the In-
spector General a written explanation relating there-
to. 
(3) FAILURE TO MEET DEADLINE.— 
(A) REQUIREMENT TO SUBMIT REPORT.— 
If, by the date that is 6 months after the date 
of the enactment of this section, the Director of 
the Peace Corps is unable to obtain agreement 
with the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplo-
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matic Security and certification by the Inspec-
tor General of the Peace Corps, the Director 
shall submit to the committees of Congress 
specified in subparagraph (C) a report explain-
ing the reasons for such failure. 
(B) LIMITATION
ON
FUNDS.—If, by the 
date that is 9 months after the date of the en-
actment of this section, the memorandum of 
understanding described in subsection (a) has 
not entered into force, no funds available to the 
Peace Corps may be obligated or expended to 
extend to Peace Corps volunteers invitations for 
service or to deploy Peace Corps trainees over-
seas unless the Director of the Peace Corps cer-
tifies to the committees of Congress specified in 
subparagraph (C) that— 
(i) significant progress is being made 
toward finalizing such memorandum; and 
(ii) the Peace Corps is using best ef-
forts to provide volunteers with the train-
ing, support, and information they need to 
stay safe and secure. 
(C) COMMITTEES
OF
CONGRESS
SPECI-
FIED.—The committees of Congress specified in 
this subparagraph are the Committee on For-
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eign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
Senate. 
SEC. 4. INDEPENDENCE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF 
THE PEACE CORPS. 
The limitations specified in section 7(a)(2)(A) of the 
Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2506(a)(2)(A)) on the length 
of appointment or assignment under section 7(a)(2) of 
such Act, section 7(a)(2)(B) of such Act on reappointment 
or reassignment of an individual whose appointment or as-
signment under section 7(a)(2) of such Act has been ter-
minated, and section 7(a)(5) of such Act on the cir-
cumstances under which an appointment or assignment 
under section 7(a)(2) of such Act may exceed five years 
shall not apply to— 
(1) the Inspector General of the Peace Corps; 
and 
(2) officers and employees of the Office of the 
Inspector General of the Peace Corps. 
SEC. 5. SAFETY AND SECURITY REPORTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Peace Corps 
shall annually submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on the safety 
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of Peace Corps volunteers. Each such report shall at a 
minimum include the following information: 
(1) The incidence of crimes, together with the 
number of arrests, prosecutions, and incarcerations 
for every country in which volunteers serve for the 
preceding year. 
(2) A three year trend analysis of the types and 
frequency of crimes committed against volunteers for 
every country in which the Peace Corps has operated 
for at least the three preceding years. 
(b) INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT.—Not later than 
two years after the date of the enactment of this section 
and at least once every five years thereafter (or more fre-
quently as appropriate), the Inspector General of the 
Peace Corps shall perform an audit of Peace Corps imple-
mentation of safety and security protocols, including the 
status of any Inspector General findings and recommenda-
tions from previous audits that have not been adequately 
remediated or implemented. 
SEC. 6. PORTFOLIO REVIEWS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Peace Corps 
shall, at least once every three years (or more frequently 
as appropriate), perform a review to evaluate the alloca-
tion and delivery of resources across the countries the 
Peace Corps serves or is considering for service. Such 
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portfolio reviews shall at a minimum include the following 
with respect to each such country: 
(1) An evaluation of the country’s commitment 
to the Peace Corps program. 
(2) An analysis of the safety and security of 
volunteers. 
(3) An evaluation of the country’s need for as-
sistance. 
(4) An analysis of country program costs. 
(5) An evaluation of the effectiveness of man-
agement of each post within a country. 
(6) An evaluation of the country’s congruence 
with the Peace Corps’ mission and strategic prior-
ities. 
(b) REPORT.—The Director of the Peace Corps shall 
prepare a report on each portfolio review required under 
subsection (a). Each such report shall discuss performance 
measures and sources of data used (such as project status 
reports, volunteer surveys, impact studies, reports of In-
spector General of the Peace Corps, and any relevant ex-
ternal sources) in making such review’s findings and con-
clusions. The Director shall make each such report avail-
able upon request to the Chairman and Ranking Member 
of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
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the Senate in a manner consistent with the protection of 
classified information if determined necessary to protect 
sensitive information. 
Æ 
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