IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 192 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives encouraging the active 
engagement of Americans in world affairs and urging the Secretary 
of State to take the lead and coordinate with other governmental agencies 
and non-governmental organizations in creating an online database of 
international exchange programs and related opportunities. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 6, 2005 
Mr. MCGOVERN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on International Relations 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives encour-
aging the active engagement of Americans in world af-
fairs and urging the Secretary of State to take the 
lead and coordinate with other governmental agencies 
and non-governmental organizations in creating an online 
database of international exchange programs and related 
opportunities. 
Whereas the United States needs to do a better job of build-
ing personal and institutional relationships with peoples 
and Nations around the world in order to combat the rise 
in anti-American sentiment that many polls and studies 
have reported;
•HRES 192 IH 
Whereas a broad bipartisan consensus in favor of strength-
ening United States public diplomacy emerged during 
2003 in Congress and was expressed in various reports, 
including reports of the Council on Foreign Relations, the 
General Accounting Office, the Advisory Commission on 
Public Diplomacy, the Heritage Foundation, and the Ad-
visory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Mus-
lim World; 
Whereas, in July 2004, the National Commission on Ter-
rorist Attacks Upon the United States released its final 
report on United States intelligence, which determined 
that ‘‘[j]ust as we did in the Cold War, we need to de-
fend our ideals abroad vigorously. America does stand up 
for its values . . . If the United States does not act ag-
gressively to define itself in the Islamic World, the ex-
tremists will gladly do the job for us.’’; 
Whereas the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 de-
clares the sense of Congress that the United States 
should commit to a long-term and significant investment 
in promoting people-to-people engagement with all levels 
of society in other countries; 
Whereas international exchange programs, which have as-
sisted in extending American influence around the world 
by educating the world’s leaders, have suffered from a 
decline in funding and policy priority; 
Whereas, when students are instructed in their civic and com-
munity responsibilities during secondary education, the 
importance of their participation in global affairs should 
be underscored as well;
•HRES 192 IH 
Whereas the number of United States university-level stu-
dents studying abroad in 2002–2003 was 174,629, rep-
resenting just over 1 percent of United States students; 
Whereas 2⁄3 of United States students studying abroad study 
in Western Europe (18.2 percent in the United Kingdom 
alone), although 95 percent of the world population 
growth in the next 50 years is expected to occur outside 
of Western Europe; 
Whereas there are 29,953,000 retired workers in the United 
States as of December 2004, meaning that there are 
many older Americans who have the talent, maturity, and 
time to volunteer their services abroad; 
Whereas the average United States college graduate who has 
studied 1 of the less commonly taught languages reaches 
no more than an intermediate level of proficiency in the 
language, which is insufficient to meet national security 
requirements; and 
Whereas there are hundreds of well-established organizations 
in the United States that implement educational and pro-
fessional exchanges, international volunteering, and re-
lated programs, and the efforts of those organizations 
could readily be expanded to reach out to more Ameri-
cans: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,
SHORT TITLE 
SECTION 1. This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Peo-
ple-to-People Engagement in World Affairs Resolution’’. 
SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEC. 2. It is the sense of the House of Representa-
tives that—
•HRES 192 IH 
(1) the Secretary of State should coordinate 
with implementing partners in creating an online 
database that provides information on how Ameri-
cans can take advantage of—
(A) international exchange programs of the 
Department of State, the Department of Edu-
cation, and other Federal Government and non-
government entities; 
(B) volunteer opportunities with organiza-
tions that assist refugees and immigrants in the 
United States; 
(C) opportunities to host international stu-
dents and professionals in the United States; 
(D) sister-city organizations in the United 
States; 
(E) international fairs and cultural events 
in the United States; and 
(F) foreign language learning opportuni-
ties; 
(2) Americans should strive to become more en-
gaged in international affairs and more aware of 
peoples and developments outside the United States; 
(3) Americans should seize 1 or more opportu-
nities toward this end, by such means as—