IV 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 11 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

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.