I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5233 
To modernize the Peace Corps by enhancing efficiency and foreign policy 
alignment, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 9, 2025 
Mr. HUIZENGA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To modernize the Peace Corps by enhancing efficiency and 
foreign policy alignment, 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 Mod-
ernization Act’’. 
SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON OVERHEAD SPENDING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Peace Corps 
shall take such steps as may be necessary ensure that— 
(1) not more than 15 percent of the total 
amount appropriated for any fiscal year for the pro-
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grams, projects, and activities of the Peace Corps is 
allocated for administrative or other, non-volunteer, 
overhead expenses; and 
(2) the remaining 85 percent of the budget is 
directed toward volunteers, including for recruit-
ment, training, and support. 
(b) SAVINGS.—To the extent that the annual alloca-
tion requirements under subsection (a) result in additional 
amounts being directed towards the purposes described in 
subsection (a)(2), the Director shall ensure that such addi-
tional amounts are used to increase the number of Peace 
Corps volunteers deployed worldwide. 
SEC. 3. ALIGNMENT WITH FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES. 
(a) PRIORITIZATION BY SECRETARY OF STATE.— 
Pursuant to section 4(c)(3) of the Peace Corps Act (22 
U.S.C. 2503(c)(3)), the Secretary of State shall set coun-
try priorities for the deployment of Peace Corps volunteers 
in a manner that ensures alignment with United States 
strategic interests, including countering authoritarian in-
fluence, promoting stability, and supporting allies. 
(b) NOTIFICATION.—In addition to any other notifi-
cation requirements applicable with respect to such a de-
termination, the Director of the Peace Corps shall submit 
to Congress a notification before the entry into effect of 
any determination to undertake the first Peace Corps pro-
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gram in a new country or terminate all Peace Corps pro-
grams in any country. 
(c) STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Director of the Peace 
Corps shall establish a Peace Corps Strategic Plan, which 
shall be aligned, in coordination with the Under Secretary 
of State for Public Diplomacy, with the Integrated Coun-
try Strategies of the Department of State. 
(d) PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRY EXPANSION.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT FOR PRESENCE.—Notwith-
standing subsections (a) and (b), the Director of the 
Peace Corps shall ensure that programs of the Peace 
Corps operate in at least five Pacific Island coun-
tries, including Palau, the Federated States of Mi-
cronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. 
(2) REPORT ON EXPANSION.—Not later than 
90 days after the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of State and Director of the Peace Corps 
shall brief the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate on the expansion of 
Peace Corps operations in Pacific Island countries 
as required by paragraph (1), detailing— 
(A) which such countries have expressed 
interest in Peace Corps presence; 
(B) any barriers to such expansion; 
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(C) the resources needed to expand; and 
(D) opportunities to coordinate with the 
Department of Defense, Department of State, 
or other agencies to overcome challenges to 
such expansion. 
SEC. 4. COORDINATION WITH EMBASSIES. 
(a) EMBASSY OVERSIGHT.—The Director of the 
Peace Corps, in coordination with relevant Ambassadors 
and chiefs of mission, shall take such steps as may be nec-
essary to ensure that United States embassies (or other 
equivalent diplomatic or consular posts, as appropriate) 
support and integrate country-level Peace Corps oper-
ations. 
(b) WITHDRAWAL OF SUPPORT.—Upon receiving no-
tice of a determination by the Secretary of State that a 
regional bureau or an embassy has withdrawn support for 
the program of the Peace Corps in a country, the Director 
of the Peace Corps shall pause such program and submit 
to Congress a notification of both such determination and 
such pause. 
SEC. 5. OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 
The Inspector General of the Peace Corps shall co-
ordinate with the Inspector General of the Department of 
State on all oversight activities relating to volunteers. 
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SEC. 6. FOREIGN SERVICE PATHWAY. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, acting through 
the Director General of the Foreign Service, shall establish 
through regulation a mechanism to provide streamlined 
vetting and consideration of applications for appointment 
to the Foreign Service of returning and former Peace 
Corps volunteers. Such mechanism shall establish a path-
way exclusively for such volunteers that— 
(1) creates mentorship opportunities through 
programs pairing such applicants with current For-
eign Service officers; 
(2) recognizes Peace Corps service as qualifying 
experience in the form of bonus evaluation points in 
the Qualifications Evaluation Panel and Oral As-
sessment, in a manner equivalent to the veterans ap-
pointment preference under section 301(c) of the 
Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3941(c)); 
and 
(3) in addition to the recognition under para-
graph (2)(B), for any such volunteer appointed to a 
career appointment in the Foreign Service, treating 
the term of service to the Peace Corps as service in 
the Foreign Service for purposes of all benefits (in-
cluding retirement benefits) provided to members of 
the Foreign Service or term-of-service requirements 
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