[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 3, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H907-H913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PEACE CORPS ACT AUTHORIZATION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 83 and rule
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 669.
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In the Committee of the Whole
Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the State of the Union for the
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consideration of the bill (H.R. 669) to amend the Peace Corps Act to
authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2000 through 2003 to carry
out that Act, and for other purposes, with Mr. Pease in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as having
been read the first time.
Under the rule, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) and the
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson) each will control 30
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, the main purpose of H.R. 6689 is to
reauthorize appropriations to expand the Peace Corps to President
Ronald Reagan's goal of 10,000 volunteers. This legislation was
introduced by the gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell) and the
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), and I am proud to be a
cosponsor along with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), the gentleman from Iowa (Mr.
Leach) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton). I understand
that all three Republican and all three Democratic Members who served
in the Peace Corps cosponsored this bill. Senator Coverdell and Senator
Dodd will introduce companion legislation in the Senate.
Mr. Chairman, 14 years ago Ronald Reagan's late beloved Peace Corps
director, Loret Ruppe, gave us a vision of a Peace Corps that could
grow to 10,000 volunteers, and today we renew that goal on a bipartisan
basis, working with the administration and with the minority in
Congress to realize that vision.
This bill was carefully drafted in cooperation with the
administration and with OMB, and while we initially planned to get the
Peace Corps to 10,000 by the year 2000, budget realities and our
concern for the planned and orderly expansion of the Corps means that
we will reach our goal by the year 2003. This is a slower pace than we
like and with which the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Callahan) has
indicated he would be more comfortable.
We choose the Peace Corps as one of our first orders of business
because it represents the best part of our foreign assistance programs.
The Peace Corps remains foremost in the imagination of America's young
people. From President Kennedy to President Reagan and now to President
Clinton, the Peace Corps serves as a symbol of what is best in our own
Nation and its humanitarian missions around the world.
Today, there are millions of people around the world whose first
impression of our Nation is through a Peace Corps volunteer. To date,
over 150,000 Americans have served in the Peace Corps, including seven
U.S. ambassadors, five current Members of Congress and Senator Dodd,
and they represent an invaluable corps of veterans who speak over 80
languages in some of the countries most important in advancing our
Nation's nationality security, economic and humanitarian interests.
Mr. Chairman, the Peace Corps is changing. It is not the same young
people going overseas just to teach English. More people are
volunteering after retiring, providing a wealth of knowledge and
experience to their projects.
Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan formed the Crisis Corps to bring
former volunteers back to the most difficult projects of importance to
our Nation. For example, Crisis Corps volunteers are serving today in
Central America, helping those nations recover from the 200-year
devastation of Hurricane Mitch.
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House passage of this bill will demonstrate that the Congress is back
at work, passing important legislation and doing it on a bipartisan
basis.
Accordingly, Mr. Chairman, I urge support for this measure, and I
insert the following for the Record:
The Director of the Peace Corps,
Washington, DC, March 3, 1998.
Hon. Benjamin Gilman,
Committee on International Relations,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to convey my sincere
appreciation to you and the other Members of the Committee
for your decision to authorize an increase of $29 million for
the Peace Corps FY 2000 budget. The Peace Corps has been
fortunate to enjoy bipartisan support in the Congress for
many years. On behalf of the Peace Corps, I wish to thank you
for the strong leadership that you have brought to bear in
making it possible for more Americans to serve our country as
Peace Corps Volunteers. If Congress appropriates the
Committee's authorized funding level, there will be 8,000
Volunteers serving overseas by the end of FY 2000. This
proposed budget will keep the Peace Corps on the path to
achieving the goal that Congress established for us in 1985--
to field a Volunteer Corps of 10,000--in the early part of
the next century.
This is a particularly appropriate moment in the Peace
Corps history to undertake a careful effort to expand the
number of Volunteers. Today, there are nearly 6,700
Volunteers serving in 79 countries. In recent years, however,
the requests for Peace Corps Volunteers that we have received
from developing countries has generally far exceeded the
capacity of our budget. There is a reason for this: Our
Volunteers are making important and lasting contributions to
the development of some of the world's poorest communities.
Their work at the grass-roots level in education, small
business development, the environment, health, and
agriculture has become a model of success for other
international development agencies. Given the pressing need
for this kind of people-to-people assistance, I am confident
that the additional Volunteers we recruit will have effective
and successful jobs in their overseas communities.
As the need for the service of Peace Corps Volunteers
continues to rise overseas, I am pleased to report to you
that we have seen an equally significant increase in interest
in Peace Corps service among Americans here at home. Each
year, tens of thousands of our fellow citizens contact the
Peace Corps seeking information about serving as a Volunteer,
and thousands of more of our citizens apply for Peace Corps
service than our budget can fund. This growth in interest in
the Peace Corps reflects our country's great tradition of
service and our willingness to work with people in some of
the world's poorest countries who want to build a better
future for their communities. I believe that now is the time
to enable more of our citizens to offer their skills in the
cause of peace and progress in the developing world.
I also wish to assure you and the Committee that the Peace
Corps is prepared to manage this growth in the Volunteers
corps in a responsible manner. In recent years, the Peace
Corps has implemented a series of operational policies that
have reduced the agency's overhead costs and improved the way
we conduct our business. We have reduced the size of our
headquarters staff, closed five regional recruitment offices,
and closed 18 overseas programs. These cost savings have
allowed us to open new and exciting Volunteer programs in
South Africa, Jordan, Mozambique, and Bangladesh. Moreover,
these management streamlining efforts will also ensure that
the Peace Corps can recruit, train, and support additional
Volunteers under the Committee's authorized funding level.
Finally, Peace Corps Volunteers are fulfilling an even
larger purpose through their service in the developing world:
By living and working overseas for two years, they are
strengthening the ties of friendship and cross-cultural
understanding between our citizens and the people of other
countries. In the process, they build enormous goodwill for
our country and make an intangible contribution to our
country's long-term interests abroad. As we look to maintain
America's leadership in the next century, our understanding
of other people and cultures will assume an even greater
importance in maintaining our international leadership. I
believe that there are few organizations that can contribute
as much to America's understanding of the world beyond our
borders as the Peace Corps.
Mr. Chairman, as part of our efforts to mark the 38th
anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps, yesterday
thousands of former Volunteers visited classrooms in every
state to talk with students about the cross-cultural
experience they gained while serving in the Peace Corps. This
is but one example of how Peace Corps Volunteers continue
their service, even after returning home, and our country can
take great pride in what our Volunteers are accomplishing
overseas every day. I thank you and the other Members of the
Committee for providing the support that is so vital to the
thousands of other Americans who want to take part in the
Peace Corps experience, and I look forward to working with
you to make our goal of 10,000 Volunteers a reality.
Best wishes.
Sincerely,
Mark D. Gearan,
Director.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chairman, oftentimes the debate on the floor is whether the
investment of the taxpayers' resources is commensurate with the benefit
we get as a
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country from the expenditure. The entire foreign assistance program is
less than 1 percent of the Federal budget, and the Peace Corps is less
than 1 percent of that budget.
When we take a look at the impact it has on the world community from
President Kennedy's initiation of this program, there is no American
program that has been a better ambassador for America and its values
than the Peace Corps.
I think a sense of what the broad-based support in this Congress is
for this program is not because of a Washington decision, it is a
decision in the countryside. The American people like what the Peace
Corps does. It takes people with normal skills in survival, building
dams, houses, finding ways to train people better, and puts them in
countries where they are desperately needed.
Unlike other programs that are often hard to calculate in their
impact, that have fungible effects on their economy, this is one where
we can see one individual helping a family, helping a village, and
representing the very best of our American society.
So I am proud to be here today to support this budget, to support the
Administration's request to make sure there is adequate funding so
these ambassadors for America's best interest can continue to do their
job. I would hope that my colleagues would all join together in
supporting this legislation.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell), a sponsor of the legislation.
Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Gilman) for giving me the honor to present this bill on the floor. I
would not be here were it not for the graciousness of the chairman of
the Committee on International Relations, who asked me to carry this
very important legislation.
At the start, I also want to recognize the very fine leadership of
Mark Gearan and the Administration's strong support for this Peace
Corps reauthorization bill. We truly have a bipartisan consensus that
this is a way to show to the rest of the world the very best that
America has to offer; that funds for the Peace Corps are, in my
judgment, the best dollars that we spend in the foreign assistance
categories.
This reauthorization bill permits the increase in numbers of
volunteers from today's level of 6,700 to eventually 10,000 by the year
2003. I note that this is, as a benchmark, still not the maximum that
we have ever had in the Peace Corps. That was reached in 1966, when we
had 15,000. But it is a goal towards which we have been directing our
efforts for some time.
Presently, we have more people in America applying to be Peace Corps
volunteers, qualified to be Peace Corps volunteers, qualified to be
ambassadors of our country overseas, and to do good at the most basic
levels overseas, we have more volunteers for that task than we have
budget authority to employ.
For example, over the last 4 years, the numbers of Americans
requesting applications for the Peace Corps has gone up by 40 percent.
Financially, though, over the last 4 years, we have only been able to
adopt and make part of the Peace Corps an increase of 2 percent.
Since its inception, over 150,000 Americans have served in the Peace
Corps. I am proud to relate that every returning Peace Corps volunteer
member of this House of Representatives is a cosponsor of the bill. I
draw particular attention to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Chris
Shays), the gentleman from California (Mr. Sam Farr), the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Jim Walsh), and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr.
Tom Petri); and over in the other body, Senators Dodd and Coverdell.
Senator Coverdell is not technically a returned volunteer, but he was
director of the Peace Corps under President George Bush.
Mr. Chairman, I have a personal interest in Africa that I have
attempted to bring to the attention of my colleagues on many occasions.
Whenever I travel to Africa, I try to focus on the poorest countries,
the countries of greatest need. My wife travels with me. Susanne and I
have visited, just in the last few months, the Ivory Coast, Ghana,
Mali, and in previous trips, as well, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo.
Every time we visit we make a point to see the Peace Corps
volunteers, to find out what they are doing, to talk with them. Then I
will frequently write a note to the individuals' parents to let them
know how proud we are of the job they are doing. Recently, Mr.
Chairman, I have been writing notes to their children, because the
Peace Corps now is taking more and more Americans who have finished a
career and have decided to give to their country and give to their
world at that stage in their lives, a little departure from what we
might have originally identified with the Peace Corps.
This bill allows adequate funding to allow this increase in
volunteers and to make other changes in the authorizing legislation, so
that Peace Corps volunteers and employees will have many of the same
benefits accorded to members of the Foreign Service.
Affirmatively, it is good for our country, good for the world. But in
addition, I wish to anticipate those who have criticized the Peace
Corps, who have been very few over the years, but there have been some,
and to the extent that those criticisms were valid, it is my judgment
that this director of the Peace Corps, Mr. Mark Gearan, has superbly
addressed them.
I note, for example, that under his leadership the Peace Corps has
now accomplished an actual reduction of 13 percent in the United
States-based staff, putting more of the Peace Corps resources overseas
where they make such a difference.
The Peace Corps has also achieved a 14 percent decrease in the annual
cost of a volunteer. Under Mark Gearan's directorship we have closed
unnecessary regional recruiting offices, and consolidated our
activities overseas.
The administration, in other words, has improved the Peace Corps
until it is, in my judgment, to be compared favorably with any of our
foreign assistance programs.
Lastly, Mr. Chairman, I want to add a personal note, that when my
wife and I were in Senegal we witnessed the opening of the Karen
Robinson Center just outside Dakar, a center that was created to assist
albino children who, in that society, had theretofore been social
outcasts and who also had physical disabilities particularly associated
with the bright sun, the danger of exposure to sun, due to their lack
of pigmentation, as well as the near-sightedness that is oftentimes
associated with albinism.
The point is that this center, opened for this remarkably
compassionate purpose, was named for a Peace Corps volunteer whose idea
it was, who arranged the local funding, who arranged the assistance
with the local authorities, so that it happened.
Mr. Chairman, there are stories like the Karen Robinson Center in
every country throughout Africa that I have been privileged to visit
over the last 3 years. I conclude by saying that of all of the honors
that the chairman of the Committee on International Relations could
have given me, his designation of me to be the author of this bill is
certainly the highest. I am most grateful.
Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, it is a great pleasure to yield 5
minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo).
Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, I thank our very distinguished ranking
member, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson).
I am very proud to rise today in support of H.R. 669, a bill which is
designed to expand the Peace Corps so it can meet the demands and
challenges as it heads into the 21st century.
Mr. Chairman, the extraordinary vision of President Kennedy really
lives on today through the Peace Corps. In the Congress of the United
States, we have our own honor roll of former Peace Corps members: in
the House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Sam Farr), the gentleman
from Connecticut (Mr. Chris Shays), the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Jim Walsh); certainly in the Senate, Chris Dodd, the late Paul Tsongas.
Mr. Chairman, when we send Peace Corps volunteers overseas, we do not
just export our volunteers. We really are exporting American values.
Our Peace Corps volunteers demonstrate
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firsthand what it means to build community and to build democracy. We
export our great intellectual genius with each one of our volunteers.
The Peace Corps has always enjoyed a bipartisan support in the
Congress. The proposed increases in this bill really represent, I
think, a very small investment for a large return. By sending our best
and our brightest ambassadors, the Peace Corps itself is one of the
most effective and long-lasting foreign policy tools that the United
States of America has.
At a time when so many of our young people, Mr. Chairman, are turning
away from public service, are not interested in it, the Peace Corps is
actually inundated with applications and is having to turn people away
from that service. We know that we need to match their idealism and
their attraction to the Peace Corps.
The number of Americans requesting applications and information about
the Peace Corps has increased by more than 40 percent over the last 4
years. Yet, the Peace Corps is only able to increase its volunteers by
2 percent during this same period.
I am exceedingly proud to be a political descendant of John
Fitzgerald Kennedy, and I am an unabashed idealist. President Kennedy's
aspirations live on today, and the torch, as he said, has been passed
to a new generation. That new generation includes my son, Paul Eshoo,
who is a volunteer in the Peace Corps today in Nepal, in the Himalayas.
I cannot wait to send him an e-mail to say that this legislation has
passed, and that with it, the Congress of the United States really not
only thanks and acknowledges what the volunteers in the Peace Corps are
doing all around the world, but that we match our idealism and our
pragmatism in the investment of America's tax dollars in the hopes and
aspirations of people around the world.
So I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. It is very well
put together. If in fact the amendment that would flatten out this
budget is offered, I urge my colleagues to vote against it. It is an
amendment to diminish aspirations. It would be an amendment to diminish
the hopes and aspirations of generations and generations that have seen
fit to go around the world and be America's best ambassadors.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). Without objection, the gentleman
from California (Mr. Campbell) will control the time allotted to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).
There was no objection.
Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chairman, before introducing the next speaker, I am proud to say
that my colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), has
added her strong support for this legislation. I have the highest
regard for my neighbor and colleague.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my distinguished colleague, the
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), the chairman of the
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the Committee on International
Relations.
(Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding time
to me.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 669, the Peace Corps
Reauthorization Act, which will strengthen the impact of the Peace
Corps. This legislation was introduced by our distinguished colleague,
the gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell), and cosponsored by the
distinguished chairman of the committee, the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Gilman), the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut (Mr.
Gejdenson), the ranking member of the Committee on International
Relations, and many other members, including this Member.
We passed this bill from the committee unanimously on February 11th.
I would congratulate the distinguished gentleman from California for
introducing this act which, if passed and signed into law, would
authorize the expansion of the Peace Corps to 10,000 volunteers by the
year 2003. It will be fulfilling the goal set by former President
Ronald Reagan in 1985, who built on the legacy of President John F.
Kennedy.
Mr. Chairman, in the 38 years since the Peace Corps was established,
its volunteers have compiled a distinguished record of service to
people in countries around the world. Volunteers provide badly needed,
at times critical, assistance, while at the same time embodying not
just the technical know-how but also the ideals and the can-do spirit
of the American people.
The annals of the Peace Corps are replete with examples of
communities strengthened and lives changed, both among those who have
received the assistance and among the volunteers themselves, who come
back to this country and continue to provide service to our Nation's
communities.
Former volunteers have gone on to distinguished careers in many
fields, including five Peace Corps alumni who are members of this body.
There can be little doubt that the type of--that the need for the type
of assistance the Peace Corps provides remains great. At the same time,
this Member is pleased to note that there is no shortage of Americans,
both young people and those with years or even decades of experience,
willing to dedicate a significant period of their lives to volunteering
to assist others.
In its 38-year-history, more than 1,200 volunteers have come from
this Member's low population State of Nebraska, including 63 Nebraskans
currently providing this important form of volunteer service.
As a personal note, a former intern of this Member's staff in whom we
take great pride was Tammy Ortega, who performed in an exemplary
fashion as a Peace Corps volunteer in ecuadorial Guinea. This Nation
should be proud that we have individuals like Tammy who are willing to
devote 2 or more years of their lives to helping those less fortunate.
Mr. Chairman, for many reasons, this Member is pleased both to
cosponsor this important bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to
support H.R. 669, introduced by our distinguished colleague, the
gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell).
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Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) a distinguished member of the
Committee on Appropriations, a subcommittee chairman, and himself a
returned Peace Corps volunteer.
Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr.
Campbell), my good friend, colleague, and classmate for his hard work
on this important issue.
Mr. Chairman, the Peace Corps not only benefits the world, it
benefits our country, it benefits the individual. Everyone wins in this
program. It is a remarkably ingenious idea. Take America's idealistic
youth, send them around the world. They learn, the people in the other
countries learn, there is a benefit to all.
Then these young people come back to the United States and,
throughout our society, they are engaged and active in making this a
better country, just as they were when they visited Nepal or Ghana or
any of the other Peace Corps locations around the world.
Mr. Chairman, I have a bias, obviously, as a returned Peace Corps
volunteer. But the fact is, the world is changing. We have seen great
progress here in our country. But in some places in the world, the
countries are actually poorer. People are in more difficult conditions
than they were when I was a volunteer 25 or 30 years ago, so the need
is still there. And, as the world changes, other countries open up to
this idea, and we need to fulfill that need.
I just recently returned to India and to Nepal to my village. It was
a remarkable homecoming for me. I saw people who were there when I was
there. I renewed relationships. Visually, it was very much the same as
when I left, although there were improvements in permanent housing.
They have electricity in the village now. They have municipal water in
the village.
We used to have to boil the water and put iodine in it to make sure
it was drinkable. Today, they have municipal water throughout the
village. Two weeks after I returned home, I received an e-mail from my
village. Talk about
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amazing. When I was there, the only machine that I saw on a regular
basis was the Thailand International jet that flew over on Tuesday.
The world is changing dramatically and rapidly as it gets smaller, as
the world gets smaller. And with this Internet now that is reaching out
and touching every village, literally, in the world, the personal
relationships that Peace Corps volunteers make and the associations
they make with people from all these different countries can only
benefit our country.
We will be more and more a global citizen, more and more involved in
all of these countries, and the more knowledge we have of the rest of
the world through these individuals can only make us stronger.
Mr. Speaker, those are the emotional, the idealistic views. Let me
tell a few things about the Peace Corps. They are changing, too, with
the improvements that Director Gearan has made. They have reduced
headquarters staff by 13 percent. They have reduced the number of
domestic recruiting offices. They have reduced the cost to support
volunteers in the field. All of this with the thought in mind that we
need to be better and smarter and work faster, reduce the cost of
government.
But, at the same time, the investment that we are making in these
individuals in those countries and ultimately in our own country is a
sound investment that we need to support today.
Mr. PORTER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this
legislation. I have always supported the Peace Corps and the invaluable
work their volunteers provide because I have seen it first hand. These
volunteers are informal ambassadors for the United States. They spread
our culture and values while learning and absorbing from people in some
of the most remote areas of the world. More importantly, they bring
these cultures back with them to the United States and educate friends
and neighbors on the communities that most only read about in
magazines.
I have traveled to some of these areas where Peace Corps volunteers
are working. Time and again, I am always impressed with the volunteers
I meet. Their acceptance into the community and the hard work they
provide is truly remarkable. Just when you think you have reached the
most remote area on earth, there is a Peace Corps volunteer helping to
build a house or sow a field.
Since the Peace Corps' inception thirty-eight years ago, its
popularity has only grown. In 1998, more than 150,000 individuals
contacted the Peace Corps to inquire about becoming a volunteer, this
is an increase of over forty percent since 1994. We must make sure that
the Peace Corps is able to meet this demand. Further, I believe that
success and effectiveness should be rewarded. Therefore, I strongly
support this reauthorization and the goal of reaching 10,000 volunteers
by fiscal year 2003.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, on the 38th anniversary of the founding by
President Kennedy of the Peace Corps, one of our nation's most
successful international relief and development programs, I rise in
support of Peace Corps reauthorization funding to meet President
Clinton's goal of expanding the number of volunteers to 10,000 early in
the new millennium.
Thanks to the 150,000 peace corps volunteers who have served
overseas, communities around the world have benefited from the continue
to reap the benefits of the contributions of the Peace Corps. 6,700
volunteers are serving in 80 countries, working to bring clean water to
communities, teaching children, helping to develop small businesses,
and preventing the spread of AIDS.
Today, volunteers are making contributions by working along side
local people throughout the world as AIDS and environmental educators,
business advisors and teachers. Through their work, they are helping
people of developing countries to help themselves for only 1 percent of
our foreign aid budget.
There is no greater testament to the success of this program than the
Peace Corps Director's recent visit with Kenya's minister of public
works who had been taught by a Peace Corps volunteer and Tanzania's
minister of education who could still recall all of his Peace Corps
teachers. Communities around the world, including our own, are better
off today as a result of Peace Corps volunteers, their mission, their
contributions and their commitment to service.
The Peace Corps is a successful international diplomacy program that
is improving the lives of people in the developing world and enriching
the lives of Peace Corps volunteers who return from the field to
contribute to their own communities across this nation. We can be proud
of this program and its legacies and salute the members of this body
who have served.
Volunteers are returning home to be leaders in every field. Young and
old of all backgrounds are not only sharing their commitment to
altruism and volunteerism throughout the world, but are coming home to
continue their commitment to service in an ever increasing multi-
cultural society. As the Ranking Member of the Foreign Operations
Subcommittee, I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 669.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 669,
which will expand our sensible investment in the Peace Corps.
As an original cosponsor of this important legislation, I am proud to
join my colleagues today in support of the Peace Corps, one of our most
effective foreign assistance tools.
This bill, which has broad bipartisan support, will increase the
number of Peace Corps volunteers to 10,000 over the next four years. It
is especially fitting that we make this commitment today, just a day
after the Peace Corps celebrated its 38th birthday.
Under the outstanding leadership of Mark Gearan, the Peace Corps has
become a lean and effective advocate for the United States' foreign
assistance goals around the world. With almost 7,000 volunteers in
about 80 countries, the Peace Corps has brought assistance in
education, microcredit, health care, and a range of other fields to
millions of people in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, the
Pacific, and the Middle East.
This bill responds to the increasing demand for the Peace Corps, both
in the United States and around the world. Here in the United States,
interest in volunteering in the Peace Corps has increased by 40 percent
over the last four years. And Peace Corps volunteers continue to be
welcomed into communities around the world for their unique ability to
work closely with the indigenous populations to implement successful
development projects.
Mr. Chairman, this bill makes good sense. The Administration supports
it. Congress has been on the record since 1985 in support of the goal
of 10,000 Peace Corps volunteers. And even this increase would still
leave Peace Corps funding at only one percent of our foreign aid
budget, which itself is less than one percent of our overall federal
budget.
I urge my colleagues to support the Peace Corps by voting for H.R.
669.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of
the Peace Corps Act (H.R. 669). This bill authorizes appropriations for
fiscal years 2000 through 2003. This organization has a legacy of
service that has become an important part of American history.
President John F. Kennedy first proposed the idea of the Peace Corps
during a campaign stop at the University of Michigan in 1960. He
challenged the students to give two years of their lives to help people
in the developing world.
Later in his inaugural address, President Kennedy stated the
philosophy of the organization: ``To those peoples in the huts and
villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass
misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves.'' The
Peace Corps was officially established on March 1, 1961 by an Executive
Order. Sargent Shriver was appointed as its first director.
Since its inception, the Peace Corps has trained 150,000 volunteers
to work in 134 countries. Currently there are 6,700 volunteers serving
in 80 countries. The increased funding proposed in this bill would
allow the Peace Corps to expand to its goal of 10,000 volunteers. It
would also allow the Peace Corps programs to expand to South Africa,
Jordan, China, Bangladesh, Mozambique and other countries in Central
Asia, the Middle East, South America, Eastern Europe and Africa.
For the past 38 years, the Peace Corps has been an important part of
our foreign assistance program. It helps communities gain access to
clean water, grow food, prevent the spread of AIDS and work to protect
the environment.
Some Peace Corps volunteers include current members of this House:
Representative Sam Farr of California, Representative Tony Hall of
Ohio, Representative Thomas Petri of Wisconsin, Representative
Christopher Shays of Connecticut, and Representative James Walsh of New
York. Donna Shalala, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Services also served in the Peace Corps.
Let me tell you a little about the Peace Corps participation from my
state of Texas. There are 197 Texans currently serving in the Peace
Corps. Since 1961, Texas has supplied 2,784 volunteers. Of the colleges
and universities that send Peace Corps volunteers this year, the
University of Texas at Austin has 52 volunteers.
An intern from Houston now serving in my office, LaQuinta Wadsworth,
was a participant in the Peace Corps internship during the summer of
1998. She traveled to Ghana as a part of a Peace Corps program through
her school, Texas Southern University. Her internship was designed to
increase awareness among the
[[Page H912]]
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
LaQuinta shared these thoughts, ``The Peace Corps motto is `The
Toughest Job You Will Ever Love', and this statement is definitely
true. The service opens the minds of the volunteers to new and amazing
people and adventures. The Peace Corps is an asset to the communities
of the countries in which volunteers serve.''
Another citizen from my district, Roosevelt Harris worked as
Associate Director of Field Operations for the Peace Corps in Liberia
from 1972-1975. He had this to say about his experience, ``It has been
one of the best experiences I've ever had in my life. It surpasses any
foreign aid in terms of the direct impact it has on the local populace
and the exchange between people contributes greatly to world peace. The
Peace Corps enhances the image of America abroad. If I had the
opportunity, I . . . [would] not hesitate to return to the Peace
Corps.''
These testimonials are just an example of the positive impact the
Peace Corps has had on the lives of former volunteers. I urge my
colleagues today to vote in support of this appropriation for this
worthwhile organization.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, I rise to express my very strongest
support for H.R. 669 to authorize $270 million in fiscal year 2000 for
the Peace Corps. This bill will provide an increase of $29 million over
current funding levels. Surely a very modest increase, Mr. Speaker, for
a program that has such a positive impact around the world and such a
proven track record of success.
Over the last 38 years 6,921 Peace Corps Volunteers from
Massachusetts have built a legacy of service and made contributions to
the health, education, and development of countless people around the
world. Currently, 232 Massachusetts citizens are serving in the Peace
Corps.
I can go into any school in my district and find young people who
dream of working in the Peace Corps. These students already know that
the Peace Corps embodies our most enduring values of service,
compassion, and peace-making. They dream about going to some of the
poorest communities on the face of this earth and helping people help
themselves, while learning about other people and other cultures.
But their dreams will only come true if we provide now the necessary
funding to allow the Peace Corps to expand its volunteer program. Under
the leadership of Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan--a Massachusetts
native, I might add--more and more of our fellow citizens, of all ages
and backgrounds, are applying to serve as volunteers. Under his
leadership, the Peace Corps has also become a model government agency--
streamlining procedures, cutting costs and reducing the number of U.S.-
based staff, while at the same time increasing the support and training
for new volunteers.
I am especially grateful that the new program established in 1996,
the Crisis Corps, will be sending more than 60 experienced former Peace
Corps Volunteers to Central America to help those communities rebuild
after the devastation of Hurricane Mitch.
I urge my colleagues to support this authorization and to reject any
amendments to freeze or cut funding for the Peace Corps.
Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 669, a bill
that will allow more Americans to serve our country as Peace Corps
Volunteers. Peace Corps volunteers play a vital role in the development
of some of the worlds' poorest communities. Through the contributions
of these volunteers, great strides have been made to improve education,
economic development and healthcare. In recent years, our foreign
neighbors have come to depend on Peace Corps volunteers for the grass
root assistance, and the demand for volunteers increases every year.
Furthermore, American interest in the Peace Corps has risen by 40%.
Increased funding for this program over the next three years is
essential to insure that more Americans can make a difference around
the world. With great pride I recognize the individuals in the Peace
Corps and this organization for its commitment to helping our
international neighbors. Organizations such as the Peace Corps have not
only established proud traditions of goodwill and service around the
world, but also have contributed to improved relationships with people
of other countries. Support for the Peace Corps requires little more
than one percent of the resource allocated for foreign assistance. The
benefit gained from this investment will be felt by both the foreign
countries we help and the volunteers who return from their service with
a better understanding of the world. Let us continue to support the
Peace Corps Organization as a display of the strong American commitment
to international development and partnerships.
Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, I have no further speakers, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN. All time for general debate has expired.
Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read for amendment under
the 5-minute rule.
The text of H.R. 669 is as follows:
H.R. 669
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEARS
2000 THROUGH 2003 TO CARRY OUT THE PEACE CORPS
ACT.
Section 3(b) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2502(b)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(b)(1) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out the purposes of this Act $270,000,000 for fiscal year
2000, $298,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, $327,000,000 for
fiscal year 2002, and $365,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.
``(2) Amounts authorized to be appropriated under paragraph
(1) for a fiscal year are authorized to remain available for
that fiscal year and the subsequent fiscal year.''.
SEC. 2. MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS TO THE PEACE CORPS ACT.
(a) International Travel.--Section 15(d) of such Act (22
U.S.C. 2514(d)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (11), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(13) the transportation of Peace Corps employees, Peace
Corps volunteers, dependents of such employees and
volunteers, and accompanying baggage, by a foreign air
carrier when the transportation is between two places outside
the United States without regard to section 40118 of title
49, United States Code.''.
(b) Technical Amendments.--(1) Section 5(f)(1)(B) of such
Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(f)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ``Civil
Service Commission'' and inserting ``Office of Personnel
Management''.
(2) Section 5(h) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(h)) is amended
by striking ``the Federal Voting Assistance Act of 1955 (5
U.S.C. 2171 et seq.)'' and all that follows through ``(31
U.S.C. 492a),'' and inserting ``section 3342 of title 31,
United States Code, section 5732 and''.
(3) Section 5(j) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(j)) is amended
by striking ``section 1757 of the Revised Statutes of the
United States'' and all that follows and inserting ``section
3331 of title 5, United States Code.''.
(4) Section 10(a)(4) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2509(a)(4)) is
amended by striking ``31 U.S.C. 665(b)'' and inserting
``section 1342 of title 31, United States Code''.
(5) Section 15(c) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2514(c)) is
amended by striking ``Public Law 84-918 (7 U.S.C. 1881 et
seq.)'' and inserting ``subchapter VI of chapter 33 of title
5, United States Code''.
(6) Section 15(d)(2) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2514(d)(2)) is
amended by striking ``section 9 of Public Law 60-328 (31
U.S.C. 673)'' and inserting ``section 1346 of title 31,
United States Code''.
(7) Section 15(d)(6) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2514(d)(6)) is
amended by striking ``without regard to section 3561 of the
Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 543)''.
(8) Section 15(d)(11) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2514(d)(11)),
as amended by this section, is further amended by striking
``Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended (22 U.S.C. 801 et
seq.)'' and inserting ``Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22
U.S.C. 3901 et seq.)''.
The CHAIRMAN. During consideration of the bill for amendment, the
Chair may accord priority in recognition to a Member offering an
amendment that he has printed in the designated place in the
Congressional Record. Those amendments will be considered read.
The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may postpone a request for
a recorded vote on any amendment and may reduce to a minimum of 5
minutes the time for voting on any postponed question that immediately
follows another vote, provided that the time for voting on the first
question shall be a minimum of 15 minutes.
Are there any amendments to the bill?
If not, under the rule, the Committee rises.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr.
Walsh) having assumed the chair, Mr. Pease, Chairman of the Committee
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, reported that that
Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 669) to amend
the Peace Corps Act to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2000
through 2003 to carry out that Act, and for other purposes, pursuant to
House Resolution 83, he reported the bill back to the House.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is
ordered.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
[[Page H913]]
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently, a quorum is not present.
The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
Pursuant to clause 8(c) of rule XX, this 15-minute vote will be
followed by a 5-minute vote on H.R. 603.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 326,
nays 90, not voting 17, as follows:
[Roll No. 31]
YEAS--326
Abercrombie
Aderholt
Allen
Andrews
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Baldacci
Baldwin
Barcia
Barrett (WI)
Barton
Bass
Bateman
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop
Blagojevich
Bliley
Blumenauer
Boehlert
Bonior
Bono
Borski
Boswell
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Brown (CA)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Bryant
Burr
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Canady
Capuano
Cardin
Castle
Chambliss
Clay
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Condit
Conyers
Cook
Cooksey
Costello
Coyne
Crowley
Cummings
Danner
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis (VA)
Deal
DeFazio
DeGette
DeLauro
DeMint
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart
Dicks
Dingell
Dixon
Doggett
Dooley
Doyle
Dreier
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Ewing
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Frank (MA)
Franks (NJ)
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Ganske
Gejdenson
Gekas
Gephardt
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Gonzalez
Gordon
Goss
Green (TX)
Greenwood
Gutierrez
Hall (OH)
Hansen
Hastings (FL)
Herger
Hill (IN)
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Holden
Holt
Hooley
Horn
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hutchinson
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, E. B.
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kasich
Kelly
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kleczka
Klink
Knollenberg
Kucinich
Kuykendall
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Lantos
Larson
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Luther
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Markey
Martinez
Mascara
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McInnis
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Millender-McDonald
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Minge
Mink
Moakley
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (VA)
Morella
Murtha
Myrick
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Ose
Owens
Oxley
Packard
Pallone
Pastor
Payne
Pease
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Phelps
Pickett
Pitts
Pomeroy
Porter
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Rahall
Rangel
Regula
Reyes
Reynolds
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogan
Rogers
Ros-Lehtinen
Rothman
Roukema
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Sabo
Salmon
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Saxton
Schakowsky
Scott
Serrano
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shows
Sisisky
Skeen
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Souder
Spratt
Stabenow
Stark
Strickland
Stupak
Talent
Tanner
Tauscher
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thornberry
Thune
Thurman
Tierney
Towns
Traficant
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Upton
Velazquez
Vento
Visclosky
Walsh
Waters
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weller
Wexler
Weygand
Whitfield
Wise
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NAYS--90
Archer
Armey
Ballenger
Barr
Barrett (NE)
Bartlett
Bilbray
Blunt
Boehner
Bonilla
Burton
Cannon
Chabot
Chenoweth
Coble
Coburn
Collins
Combest
Cox
Cramer
Crane
Cubin
Cunningham
DeLay
Doolittle
Duncan
Fowler
Goode
Goodlatte
Goodling
Graham
Green (WI)
Gutknecht
Hall (TX)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Hill (MT)
Hilleary
Hostettler
Istook
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Kingston
Kolbe
Largent
Latham
Lewis (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Manzullo
McIntosh
Metcalf
Mica
Moran (KS)
Paul
Pickering
Pombo
Radanovich
Ramstad
Riley
Rohrabacher
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sanford
Scarborough
Schaffer
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (MI)
Spence
Stearns
Stenholm
Stump
Sununu
Sweeney
Tancredo
Taylor (NC)
Tiahrt
Toomey
Walden
Wamp
Watkins
Watts (OK)
Wicker
Wilson
NOT VOTING--17
Ackerman
Boucher
Callahan
Capps
Carson
Delahunt
Dickey
Evans
Everett
Granger
McCollum
Meek (FL)
Oberstar
Pascrell
Sanchez
Terry
Weldon (PA)
{time} 1241
Messrs. LATHAM, SIMPSON, KINGSTON, TANCREDO, GRAHAM, SENSENBRENNER,
HILL of Montana, HALL of Texas, BOEHNER, SCHAFFER, BILBRAY, WATKINS,
MORAN of Kansas, HAYWORTH, SUNUNU, BARRETT of Nebraska, Mrs. FOWLER,
and Mrs. CHENOWETH changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Mr. Aderholt changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Stated for:
Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 31 I was
unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''
____________________