[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 29 (Tuesday, March 9, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S2430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              PEACE CORPS

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am pleased to commemorate the 43rd 
anniversary of the Peace Corps. Peace Corps volunteers have made a 
tremendous difference in the lives of so many around the world. I 
salute these volunteers of all backgrounds and ages who have reached 
out to people in need beyond our borders and who have presented an 
image of our country that is compassionate, energetic and approachable. 
I am especially proud of the 255 people from Wisconsin who are 
presently volunteering for the Peace Corps in South Africa, Ghana, 
Nicaragua, Philippines, Turkmenistan, Mongolia and many other 
countries. Wisconsin is one of the biggest contributors of Peace Corps 
volunteers in our country, ranked 15 among the 50 States. For the 10th 
year in a row, University of Wisconsin-Madison has the highest number 
of alumni serving as Peace Corps volunteers. The selfless service of 
Wisconsinites must be commended.
  In 1960, President Kennedy challenged Americans to serve their 
country by living and working in developing countries. Americans have 
been answering this call ever since by joining the Peace Corps. Decades 
later, I have been struck by the lasting impact that this organization, 
and the young people who have fueled it, have had around the world.
  In 2002 I traveled to visit the sites of the 1998 embassy bombings. 
Tanzania, a country where about half of the population is Muslim, is no 
stranger to suspicion and mistrust of the West. Yet as I found myself 
meeting with a group of Tanzanian legislators, asking for their views 
about how to strengthen our partnership in combating terrorism and to 
improve the relationship between our countries, I was overwhelmed by 
their enthusiasm for the Peace Corps.
  These distinguished legislators told me about how their first English 
language teachers were Peace Corps volunteers, and how those teachers 
seemed to be opening the whole world to them just by their very 
presence in the classroom. These legislators said that the best way to 
strengthen our relations with their country was to foster meaningful 
people-to-people links by increasing our Peace Corps presence there.
  In today's world where our challenges are global in nature, there is 
an urgent need for Americans to participate in programs like the Peace 
Corps. Peace Corps volunteers reach across the political and cultural 
divide, connecting with people as individuals. They treat others with 
respect by learning about their cultures and their lives, and they put 
a human face on America, which would otherwise be simply a distant 
powerful land. They help dissolve resentment against our country that 
might flourish in their absence.
  I congratulate Peace Corps and its volunteers for 43 years of 
effective service in a mission of world peace and friendship.

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