Title: Utilizing and Supporting Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Utilizing and Supporting Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers Act
This bill provides benefits for Peace Corps volunteers, including health insurance for volunteers whose service was terminated due to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak.
Such a terminated Peace Corps volunteer shall receive health insurance for two months upon return to the United States. The volunteer may elect to extend such insurance, at the volunteer's expense, until the last day in which the volunteer would be eligible for unemployment benefits under the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act. The Department of Labor shall deem a terminated volunteer eligible for such unemployment benefits if the volunteer is unemployed and not eligible for regular or extended unemployment benefits.
Executive branch departments and agencies with hiring needs, as well as the Corporation for National and Community Service, shall establish expedited processes for hiring and enrolling such terminated Peace Corps volunteers.The Peace Corps shall (1) resume all programs, to the extent possible, as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided; and (2) establish an expedited process for reenrolling Peace Corps volunteers whose service was terminated due to COVID-19.
The Peace Corps shall inform exiting volunteers of various health care options available after leaving the Peace Corps.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3700 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3700

   To provide Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees whose service was 
terminated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with health insurance, 
an expedited redeployment process, and domestic service opportunities, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 12, 2020

 Mr. Murphy (for himself, Ms. Collins, and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees whose service was 
terminated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with health insurance, 
an expedited redeployment process, and domestic service opportunities, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Utilizing and Supporting Evacuated 
Peace Corps Volunteers Act''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF INCLUSION OF PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS IN FEDERAL 
              PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION PROGRAM.

    (a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``applicable 
individual'' means an individual--
            (1) who was serving as a Peace Corp Volunteer or Trainee 
        before the date of the enactment of this Act;
            (2) whose period of service was subject to early 
        termination as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
            (3) who is unemployed and not eligible for regular 
        unemployment compensation or extended unemployment benefits 
        under Federal or State law, including an individual who has 
        exhausted all rights to regular unemployment or extended 
        benefits under Federal or State law.
    (b) Inclusion of Applicable Individuals.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Secretary of Labor shall deem applicable 
individuals as covered individuals for purposes of section 2102 of the 
Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (subtitle A of title II 
of division A of Public Law 116-136).

SEC. 3. HEALTH INSURANCE CONTINUATION FOR PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS.

    Section 5(e) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(e)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``Volunteers shall receive such health 
        care'' and inserting ``(1) Volunteers shall receive such health 
        care''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) Volunteers whose periods of service were subject to early 
termination as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency 
declared under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
247d), and applicants for enrollment described in section 8(a) whose 
training prior to enrollment was subject to early termination as a 
result of such public health emergency, shall receive--
            ``(A) 2 months of health insurance upon their return to the 
        United States; and
            ``(B) an opportunity to extend such health insurance, at 
        the expense of such volunteer or applicant for enrollment, 
        until the last day of the last week for which such volunteer or 
        applicant for enrollment is eligible for payments under section 
        2102 of the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act 
        (subtitle A of title II of division A of Public Law 116-136).
    ``(3) Not later than 30 days prior to the date on which the period 
of service of a volunteer shall terminate, the Director of the Peace 
Corps, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
shall provide general guidance to such volunteer on options for health 
care after termination other than health care provided by the Peace 
Corps, including information regarding--
            ``(A) the application process and eligibility requirements 
        for medical assistance through State plans under title XIX of 
        the Social Security Act (or waiver of State plans);
            ``(B) the qualified health plans (as defined in section 
        1301(a) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 
        U.S.C. 18021(a))) offered through an Exchange established under 
        title I of such Act, including the enrollment periods for 
        enrolling in such plans; and
            ``(C) if such volunteer is 25 years of age or younger, the 
        eligibility of such volunteer to enroll as a dependent child in 
        a group health plan or health insurance coverage in which the 
        parent of such volunteer is enrolled if such plan or coverage 
        offers such dependent coverage.''.

SEC. 4. EXPEDITED HIRING FOR PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS.

    (a) Noncompetitive Eligibility Hiring Status.--
            (1) Distribution of information.--Not later than 30 days 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 
        thereafter, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, 
        in coordination with the Director of the Peace Corps, shall 
        prepare and distribute information to each Federal department 
        and agency in the executive branch regarding the noncompetitive 
        appointment eligibility available to Peace Corps volunteers for 
        up to 3 years under Executive Order 11103 (22 U.S.C. 2504 note; 
        relating to Providing for the Appointment of Former Peace Corps 
        Volunteers to the Civilian Career Services), as amended by 
        Executive Order 12107 (44 Fed. Reg. 1055; relating to the Civil 
        Service Commission and Labor-Management in the Federal 
        Service), including the qualifications for such eligibility.
            (2) Expedited process.--Each Federal department and agency 
        in the executive branch facing critical hiring needs as a 
        result of the COVID-19 pandemic or that have unfilled 
        noncompetitive positions shall establish a process by which 
        staff with hiring authority receive the information described 
        in paragraph (1) from the Office of Personnel Management about 
        the expedited process for hiring such individuals who meet the 
        minimum qualifications of a vacant position.
    (b) Corporation for National and Community Service.--The Chief 
Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community 
Service, in coordination with the Director of the Peace Corps, shall 
establish an expedited process by which Volunteers and Trainees 
evacuated due to the COVID-19 public health emergency can participate 
in domestic service opportunities.

SEC. 5. RESUMPTION OF PEACE CORPS OPERATIONS.

    (a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``reenroll'' means the 
resumption of Peace Corps service, for a period determined by the 
Director of the Peace Corps, of Volunteers and Trainees evacuated due 
to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
    (b) Resumption Required.--As soon as practicable after the Director 
of the Peace Corps determines, as a result of the cessation of the 
COVID-19 pandemic, that it is safe to resume Peace Corps global 
operations, the Director shall seek to resume, to the fullest extent 
possible, all of the Peace Corps programs in every country in which the 
Peace Corps operated immediately before the March 15, 2020, suspension 
of all Peace Corps volunteer activities.
    (c) Report on Resumption of Peace Corps Operations Following End of 
Public Health Emergency.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Peace Corps shall submit a 
report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that 
describes the efforts of the Peace Corps--
            (1) to offer reenrollment to each Peace Corps Volunteer and 
        Trainee whose service ended suddenly on March 15, 2020 (or 
        earlier, in the case of volunteers who were serving China and 
        Mongolia), due to the COVID-19 public health emergency;
            (2) to obtain approval from countries, as appropriate, to 
        return reenrolled Volunteers and Trainees to their previous 
        assignments or countries of service;
            (3) to provide additional measures necessary for the safety 
        and health of Volunteers and Trainees and to develop 
        contingency plans in the event overseas operations are 
        disrupted by future COVID-19 outbreaks;
            (4) to develop and maintain a robust volunteer cohort; and
            (5) to identify the anticipated additional appropriations 
        or new statutory authorities that would be necessary to achieve 
        the goal of safely redeploying 7,300 Peace Corps Volunteers 
        during the 1-year period beginning on the date on which Peace 
        Corps operations resume.
    (d) Expedited Reenrollment Process.--The Director of the Peace 
Corps shall establish an expedited process for the reenrollment of 
former Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees whose service was 
interrupted as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, including--
            (1) streamlining, to the fullest extent practicable, all 
        application requirements for the reenrollment of such 
        Volunteers and Trainees during the 2-year period beginning on 
        March 15, 2020;
            (2) expediting the medical clearance for such Volunteers 
        and Trainees to facilitate reenrollment;
            (3) beginning on the date on which such Volunteer or 
        Trainee reenrolls, providing such Volunteer or Trainee with the 
        compensation, allowances, benefits, and other terms and 
        conditions of service to which the volunteer is entitled under 
        the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.); and
            (4) subject to the discretion of the Director, affording 
        evacuated Volunteers and Trainees, to the fullest extent 
        practicable, the opportunity--
                    (A) to return to their previous country of service; 
                and
                    (B) to resume work in the project area in which 
                they had been serving immediately before their 
                evacuation due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act and 
section 5(e)(2) of the Peace Corps Act, as added by section 3(2), such 
sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2020 through 2022.
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