[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2320 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2320

  To make improvements to the conduct of United States foreign policy 
through a change in the supervision of the Peace Corps and transferring 
 it from the status of ``independent agency'' to a subordinate agency 
        within the Department of State, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 30, 2019

  Mr. Scott of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read 
        twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To make improvements to the conduct of United States foreign policy 
through a change in the supervision of the Peace Corps and transferring 
 it from the status of ``independent agency'' to a subordinate agency 
        within the Department of State, 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 ``Peace Corps Mission Accountability 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to section 2 of the Peace Corps Act (22 
        U.S.C. 2501), the Peace Corps, which was established by 
        Congress in 1961, was intended ``to promote world peace and 
        friendship through a Peace Corps, which shall make available to 
        interested countries and areas men and women of the United 
        States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, under 
        conditions of hardship if necessary, to help the peoples of 
        such countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained 
        manpower, particularly in meeting the basic needs of those 
        living in the poorest areas of such countries, and to help 
        promote a better understanding of the American people on the 
        part of the peoples served and a better understanding of other 
        peoples on the part of the American people.''.
            (2) The Peace Corps plays a role in implementing aspects of 
        United States foreign policy like any taxpayer funded agency of 
        the executive branch involved in foreign policy.
            (3) The Peace Corps is not an advisory agency, but 
        implements aspects of United States foreign policy through its 
        personnel, particularly volunteers who serve in foreign 
        countries representing the United States Government's mission 
        ``to promote world peace and friendship.''.
            (4) Section 2A of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501-1) 
        transferred the Peace Corps from the ACTION Agency and 
        established it as an independent agency within the executive 
        branch, beginning on December 29, 1981. Since that date, 
        executive orders have required the Director of the Peace Corps 
        to report to the President and have given the Secretary of 
        State authority over and responsibility for Peace Corps 
        activities.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the current position of the Peace Corps as an 
        independent agency in the executive branch charged with 
        implementing aspects of United States foreign policy, while 
        being subject to the Secretary of State's ``continuous 
        supervision and general direction of the programs . . . to the 
        end that such programs are effectively integrated both at home 
        and abroad and the foreign policy of the United States is best 
        served'', creates a problem of management detrimental to the 
        foreign policy goals of the United States Government; and
            (2) since determining in which countries the Peace Corps 
        should work and the volunteers' activities in those countries 
        are components of United States foreign policy, the Secretary 
        of State, who is responsible for implementing United States 
        foreign policy, should have direct and clear control over the 
        Peace Corps, including the Director of the Peace Corps, in 
        order to coordinate the Peace Corps' work with the overall 
        foreign policy goals of the United States Government.

SEC. 3. TRANSFER OF PEACE CORPS TO DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

    (a) In General.--Section 2A of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501-
1) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 2A. PEACE CORPS AS SUBORDINATE AGENCY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF 
              STATE.

    ``The Peace Corps shall be a subordinate agency within the 
Department of State.''.
    (b) Director.--Section 4 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2503) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``President'' and 
        inserting ``Secretary of State'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``The President may exercise any 
                functions vested in him by this Act'' and inserting 
                ``The Secretary of State may carry out the duties under 
                this Act'';
                    (B) by striking ``he'' and inserting ``the 
                Director'';
                    (C) by striking ``his'' and inserting ``the 
                Director's''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following: ``The 
                Director of the Peace Corps shall report directly to 
                the Secretary of State.'';
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``The President'' 
                and inserting ``The Secretary of State''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``Under the 
                direction of the President the Secretary'' and 
                inserting ``The Secretary''.
    (c) Budget.--The budget of the Peace Corps shall be incorporated 
into the overall budget of the Department of State, with the Secretary 
of State authorized to expend amounts appropriated to the Peace Corps.
    (d) Peace Corps Programs in China.--Not later than September 30, 
2020, the Peace Corps shall terminate any Peace Corps programs 
operating in China.
    (e) Prohibition on Peace Corps Operations in Certain Countries.--
The Peace Corps may not operate in any country that is hostile to the 
national security interests of the United States, as determined by the 
Secretary of State.
    (f) Annual Reports.--The Secretary of State shall submit an annual 
report to Congress that--
            (1) describes the programs and placement of Peace Corps 
        volunteers around the world;
            (2) includes a justification of the placement and presence 
        of Peace Corps volunteers in each country; and
            (3) describes how such placements and presence furthers the 
        interests of the United States and is not contrary to the 
        national security interests of the United States.
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