[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 11 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 11

  Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps and expressing 
      support for designation of March 2011 as Peace Corps Month.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 2011

   Mr. Rush (for himself, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Towns, and Ms. 
  Jackson Lee of Texas) submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps and expressing 
      support for designation of March 2011 as Peace Corps Month.

Whereas, on March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order 
        establishing the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship by 
        sending United States volunteers to serve at the grassroots level in 
        villages and towns in all corners of the globe;
Whereas through the Peace Corps, volunteers help the people of interested 
        countries in meeting their need for trained men and women, promote a 
        better understanding of United States citizens on the part of the 
        peoples served, and promote a better understanding of other peoples on 
        the part of the people of the United States;
Whereas Peace Corps volunteers live and work in communities and learn the local 
        language and culture;
Whereas Peace Corps volunteers educate individuals, households, service 
        providers, and communities about the importance of health promotion and 
        disease prevention especially HIV/AIDS;
Whereas Peace Corps volunteers coach and mentor youth in important areas, 
        including life skills training for employment, entrepreneurship, and 
        leadership, tolerance, self-esteem, and conflict resolution;
Whereas Peace Corps volunteers coach and mentor youth on gender equity and 
        inclusion of women;
Whereas Peace Corps volunteers organize and facilitate camps for girls, designed 
        to develop leadership skills and improve self-esteem;
Whereas these camps will help foster equitable and sustainable capacity building 
        for girls, increasing their participation in the economic and political 
        lives of their communities and countries;
Whereas Peace Corps volunteers are part of national and local efforts to 
        strengthen primary, secondary, and university education capacity through 
        classroom instruction, professional development for teachers, and 
        community resource development;
Whereas Peace Corps volunteers engage national and local partners in 
        environmental education and conservation, and integrate economic 
        development interests with environmental sustainability through 
        ecotourism and ecobusiness projects;
Whereas to date, nearly 200,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in 139 
        countries;
Whereas currently, 60 percent of volunteers are women, 17 percent are 
        minorities, 93 percent are single, and 84 percent are in their 20s;
Whereas Peace Corps volunteers work in a range of sectors, including 35 percent 
        in education, 22 percent in health and HIV/AIDS, 15 percent in business 
        development, 14 percent in the environment, 5 percent in youth, 5 
        percent in agriculture, and 4 percent in other activities; and
Whereas March 2011 would be an appropriate month to designate as Peace Corps 
        Month: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps;
            (2) congratulates and commends all the volunteers who have 
        dedicated their lives to make a difference in the world;
            (3) supports the designation of Peace Corps Month to bring 
        awareness to the importance of volunteers in development and 
        make efforts to increase coordinated community outreach and 
        service activities across the United States in cooperation with 
        regional recruiting offices, posts, and global partners; and
            (4) renews the United States commitment to promote world 
        peace and friendship, and help developing countries to reach 
        their development goals.
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