[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 1, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H3557-H3561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HEALTH, SAFETY, AND SECURITY OF PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS ACT OF 2004
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 4060) to amend the Peace Corps Act to establish an
Ombudsman and an Office of Safety and Security of the Peace Corps, and
for other purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 4060
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 ``Health, Safety, and Security
of Peace Corps Volunteers Act of 2004''.
SEC. 2. OMBUDSMAN OF THE PEACE CORPS.
The Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) is amended by
inserting after section 4 the following new section:
``SEC. 4A. OMBUDSMAN OF THE PEACE CORPS.
``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Peace
Corps the Office of the Ombudsman of the Peace Corps
(hereinafter in this section referred to as the `Office').
The Office shall be headed by the Ombudsman of the Peace
Corps (hereinafter in this section referred to as the
`Ombudsman'), who shall be appointed by and report directly
to the Director of the Peace Corps.
``(b) Volunteer Complaints and Other Matters.--The
Ombudsman shall receive and, as appropriate, inquire into
complaints, questions, or concerns submitted by current or
former volunteers regarding services or support provided by
the Peace Corps to its volunteers, including matters
pertaining to--
``(1) the safety and security of volunteers;
``(2) due process, including processes relating to
separation from the Peace Corps;
``(3) benefits and assistance that may be due to current or
former volunteers;
``(4) medical or other health-related assistance; and
``(5) access to files and records of current or former
volunteers.
``(c) Employee Complaints and Other Matters.--The Ombudsman
shall receive and, as appropriate, inquire into complaints,
questions, or concerns submitted by current or former
employees of the Peace Corps on any matters of grievance.
``(d) Additional Duties.--The Ombudsman shall--
``(1) recommend responses to individual matters received
under subsections (b) and (c);
``(2) make recommendations for administrative or regulatory
adjustments to address recurring problems or other
difficulties of the Peace Corps;
``(3) identify systemic issues that relate to the
practices, policies, and administrative procedures of the
Peace Corps affecting volunteers and employees; and
``(4) call attention to problems not yet adequately
considered by the Peace Corps.
``(e) Standards of Operation.--The Ombudsman shall carry
out the duties under this section in a manner that is--
``(1) independent, impartial in the conduct of inquiries,
and confidential; and
``(2) consistent with the revised Standards for the
Establishment and Operation of Ombudsman Offices (August
2003) as endorsed by the American Bar Association.
``(f) Involvement in Matters Subject to Ongoing
Adjudication, Litigation, or Investigation.--The Ombudsman
shall refrain from any involvement in the merits of
individual matters that are the subject of ongoing
adjudication or litigation, or investigations related to such
adjudication or litigation.
``(g) Reports.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this section, and semiannually
thereafter, the Ombudsman shall submit to the Director of the
Peace Corps, the Chair of the Peace Corps National Advisory
Council, and Congress a report containing a summary of--
``(A) the complaints, questions, and concerns considered by
the Ombudsman;
``(B) the inquiries completed by the Ombudsman;
``(C) recommendations for action with respect to such
complaints, questions, concerns, or inquiries; and
``(D) any other matters that the Ombudsman considers
relevant.
``(2) Confidentiality.--Each report submitted under
paragraph (1) shall maintain confidentiality on any matter
that the Ombudsman considers appropriate in accordance with
subsection (e).
``(h) Definition.--In this section, the term `employee'
means an employee of the Peace Corps, an employee of the
Office of Inspector General of the Peace Corps, an individual
appointed or assigned under the Foreign Service Act of 1980
(22 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.) to carry out functions under this
Act, or an individual subject to a personal services contract
with the Peace Corps.''.
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE PEACE CORPS.
The Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.), as amended by
section 2 of this Act, is further amended by inserting after
section 4A the following new section:
``SEC. 4B. OFFICE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE PEACE CORPS.
``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Peace
Corps the Office of Safety and Security of the Peace Corps
(hereinafter in this section referred to as the `Office').
The Office shall be headed by the Associate Director of
Safety and Security of the Peace Corps, who shall
be appointed by and report directly to the Director of the
Peace Corps.
``(b) Responsibilities.--The Office established under
subsection (a) shall be responsible for all safety and
security activities of the Peace Corps, including background
checks of volunteers and staff, safety and security of
volunteers and staff (including training), safety and
security of facilities, security of information technology,
and
[[Page H3558]]
other responsibilities as required by the Director.
``(c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress
that--
``(1) the Associate Director of Safety and Security of the
Peace Corps, as appointed pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section, should assign a Peace Corps country security
coordinator for each country where the Peace Corps has a
program of volunteer service for the purposes of carrying out
the field responsibilities of the Office established under
subsection (a); and
``(2) each country security coordinator--
``(A) should be under the supervision of the Peace Corps
country director in each such country;
``(B) should report directly to the Associate Director of
Safety and Security of the Peace Corps, as appointed pursuant
to subsection (a) of this section, on all matters of
importance as the country security coordinator considers
necessary;
``(C) should be responsible for coordinating with the
regional security officer of the Peace Corps responsible for
the country to which such country security officer is
assigned; and
``(D) should be a United States citizen who has access to
information, including classified information, relating to
the possible threats against Peace Corps volunteers.''.
SEC. 4. OFFICE OF MEDICAL SERVICES OF THE PEACE CORPS.
(a) Report on Medical Screening and Placement
Coordination.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Peace Corps shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
that--
(1) describes the medical screening procedures and
guidelines used by the office responsible for medical
services of the Peace Corps to determine whether an applicant
for Peace Corps service has worldwide clearance, limited
clearance, a deferral period, or is not medically, including
psychologically, qualified to serve in the Peace Corps as a
volunteer;
(2) describes the procedures and guidelines used by the
Peace Corps to ensure that applicants for Peace Corps service
are matched with a host country where the applicant,
reasonable accommodations notwithstanding, can complete at
least two years of volunteer service without interruption due
to foreseeable medical conditions; and
(3) with respect to each of the fiscal years 2000 through
2003 and the first six months of fiscal year 2004, states the
number of--
(A) medical screenings of applicants conducted;
(B) applicants who have received worldwide clearance,
limited clearance, deferral periods, and medical
disqualifications to serve;
(C) appeals to the Medical Screening Review Board of the
Peace Corps and the number of times that an initial screening
decision was upheld;
(D) requests to the head of the office responsible for
medical services of the Peace Corps for reconsideration of a
decision of the Medical Screening Review Board and the number
of times that the decision of the Medical Screening Review
Board was upheld by the head of such office;
(E) Peace Corps volunteers who became medically qualified
to serve because of a decision of the Medical Screening
Review Board and who were later evacuated or terminated their
service early due to medical reasons;
(F) Peace Corps volunteers who became medically qualified
to serve because of a decision of the head of the office
responsible for medical services of the Peace Corps and who
were later evacuated or terminated their service early due to
medical reasons;
(G) Peace Corps volunteers who the agency has had to
separate from service due to the discovery of undisclosed
medical information; and
(H) Peace Corps volunteers who have terminated their
service early due to medical, including psychological,
reasons.
(b) Definition.--In subsection (a), the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means the Committee on
International Relations of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
(c) Full Time Director of Medical Services.--Section 4(c)
of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2503(c)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(5) The Director of the Peace Corps shall ensure that the
head of the office responsible for medical services of the
Peace Corps does not occupy any other position in the Peace
Corps.''.
SEC. 5. REPORTS ON THE ``FIVE YEAR RULE'' AND ON WORK
ASSIGNMENTS OF VOLUNTEERS OF THE PEACE CORPS.
(a) Report by the Comptroller General.--
(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit
to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the
effects of the limitation on the duration of employment,
appointment, or assignment of officers and employees of the
Peace Corps under section 7 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C.
2506) on the ability of the Peace Corps to effectively manage
Peace Corps operations.
(2) Contents.--The report described in paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) a description of such limitation;
(B) a description of the history of such limitation and the
purposes for which it was enacted and amended;
(C) an analysis of the impact of such limitation on the
ability of the Peace Corps to recruit capable volunteers,
establish productive and worthwhile assignments for
volunteers, provide for the health, safety, and security of
volunteers, and, as declared in section 2(a) of the Peace
Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501(a)), ``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'';
(D) an assessment of whether the application of such
limitation has accomplished the objectives for which it was
intended; and
(E) recommendations, if any, for legislation to amend
provisions of the Peace Corps Act relating to such
limitation.
(b) Report on Work Assignments of Volunteers.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Peace Corps
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report on the extent to which the work assignments of Peace
Corps volunteers fulfill the commitment of the Peace Corps to
ensuring that such assignments are well developed, with clear
roles and expectations, and that volunteers are well-suited
for their assignments.
(2) Contents.--The report described in paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) an assessment of the extent to which agreements between
the Peace Corps and host countries delineate clear roles for
volunteers in assisting host governments to advance their
national development strategies;
(B) an assessment of the extent to which the Peace Corps
recruits volunteers who have skills that correlate with the
expectations cited in the country agreements and assigns such
volunteers to such posts;
(C) a description of procedures for determining volunteer
work assignments and minimum standards for such assignments;
(D) a volunteer survey on health, safety, and security
issues as well as satisfaction surveys which will have been
conducted after the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(E) an assessment of the plan of the Peace Corps to
increase the number of volunteers who are assigned to
projects in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Western
Hemisphere, particularly among communities of African descent
within countries in the Western Hemisphere, which help combat
HIV/AIDS and other global infectious diseases.
(c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means the Committee on
International Relations of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
SEC. 6. INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE PEACE CORPS.
(a) Establishment of Independent Inspector General.--
(1) In general.--The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5
U.S.C. App.) is amended--
(A) in section 8G(a)(2), by striking ``, the Peace Corps'';
(B) in section 9(a)(1), by adding at the end the following
new subparagraph:
``(X) of the Peace Corps, the office of that agency
referred to as the `Office of Inspector General'; and''; and
(C) in section 11--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or the Office of
Personnel Management'' and inserting ``the Office of
Personnel Management, or the Peace Corps''; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, the Peace Corps''
after ``the Office of Personnel Management''.
(2) Technical amendment.--Section 9(a)(1)(U) of the
Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by
striking ``and'' at the end.
(b) Temporary Appointment.--The Director of the Peace Corps
may appoint an individual to assume the powers and duties of
the Inspector General of the Peace Corps under the Inspector
General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) on an interim basis until
such time as a person is appointed by the President, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, pursuant to the
amendments made in this section.
(c) Exemption From Employment Term Limits Under the Peace
Corps Act.--
(1) In general.--Section 7 of the Peace Corps Act (22
U.S.C. 2506) is amended--
(A) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (b); and
(B) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(c) The provisions of this section that limit the
duration of service, appointment, or assignment of
individuals shall not apply to--
``(1) the Inspector General of the Peace Corps;
``(2) officers of the Office of the Inspector General of
the Peace Corps;
``(3) any individual whose official duties primarily
include the safety and security of Peace Corps volunteers or
employees;
``(4) the head of the office responsible for medical
services of the Peace Corps; or
``(5) any health care professional within the office
responsible for medical services of the Peace Corps.''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--The first proviso of section
15(d)(4) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2514(d)(4)) is
amended by striking ``7(c)'' and inserting ``7(b)''.
(d) Compensation.--Section 7 of the Peace Corps Act (22
U.S.C. 2506), as amended by subsection (c) of this section,
is further amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
[[Page H3559]]
``(d) The Inspector General of the Peace Corps shall be
compensated at the rate provided for level IV of the
Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United
States Code.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and
extend their remarks on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Health, Safety, and
Security of Peace Corps Volunteers Act of 2004.
{time} 1530
The members of the Committee on International Relations received
testimony in March at an important oversight hearing on the Peace
Corps. We heard about some of the past problems and current problems
the Peace Corps faces as it expands the number of volunteers around the
world while at the same time taking into account the changed
circumstances for American citizens living abroad during the post-
September 11 period.
I am a very strong, long-time supporter of the Peace Corps. My
colleagues and I who are strong supporters of the Peace Corps admire
the sacrifice and important work that these volunteers do. We want to
ensure through this legislation that the Peace Corps has the necessary
procedures in place to protect our Nation's sons and daughters, or
parents and grandparents, who dedicate 2 years of their lives to
improving the circumstances of the peoples of the developing world.
Mr. Speaker, at the March hearing we inquired into the adequacy of
safety and security practices that govern volunteer assignments in more
dangerous places around the world. We found that in Bolivia in 2001 the
Peace Corps did not have in place the necessary management procedures
to monitor or to account for a missing volunteer named Walter Poirier.
We learned that the Poirier family of Lowell, Massachusetts, had to
notify the Peace Corps that their son was missing. We understand from
the General Accounting Office that the Peace Corps has taken important
steps to remedy some of these problems, but still there is room for
improvement.
H.R. 4060 is intended to prepare the Peace Corps for expansion in a
more dangerous world. The bill makes a number of important changes to
the Peace Corps Act.
The legislation creates the position of ombudsman to receive and
inquire into complaints, questions or concerns raised by current or
former volunteers or employees regarding services or support provided
by the Peace Corps. The legislation statutorily creates an Office of
Safety and Security within the Peace Corps to be headed by an Associate
Director for Safety and Security who shall be responsible for all
safety and security activities of the Peace Corps.
This bill requires a report on the medical screening procedures and
guidelines used by the Peace Corps to determine whether an applicant is
medically and psychologically qualified to serve in the Peace Corps as
a volunteer. The legislation also requires a report by the Comptroller
General on the ``5-year rule'' which was cited by the GAO in previous
reports as one of the reasons for an unacceptably high degree of staff
turnover and loss of institutional memory, especially on safety and
security matters.
The legislation also creates a more independent Inspector General of
the Peace Corps, exempting that individual and the staff of the I.G.
from the 5-year rule, and creating more accountable oversight by this
committee through increased access to information from the I.G. on all
matters relating to the management of the Peace Corps.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation responds to the concerns addressed by
our witnesses last week and also responds to the concerns raised by
current and former volunteers who have contacted the committee to
discuss their experience with the Peace Corps. I ask support for this
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me just say, Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong
support of this legislation; and I urge my colleagues to do so as well.
First, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Illinois
(Mr. Hyde), the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos), and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith). I want to thank
all of them for their very strong interest and support of the Peace
Corps, its nearly 8,000 volunteers and the larger Peace Corps
community.
Now, last year, Mr. Speaker, the House of Representatives approved
the Peace Corps Expansion Act, which is designed to double the size of
the Peace Corps and to increase its effectiveness overseas.
The legislation before us today builds upon this important initiative
by focusing on the need to improve the safety and the security of our
Peace Corps volunteers. While most Peace Corps volunteers have a safe
and positive experience, the General Accounting Office testified before
the committee that volunteers under-reported crimes against them in
part due to the belief that the Peace Corps lacks the capacity or the
willingness to help.
The GAO and the other witnesses also testified that the lack of well-
developed assignments really discourages volunteers from adequately
immersing themselves in their host communities and thereby benefiting
from the protections afforded to members from these villages and also
those towns.
Finally, the witnesses noted that the administrative impediments such
as limitations on terms of employment within the Peace Corps and
worrisome changes within the Office of Medical Services constrain Peace
Corps employees from providing the best possible support to volunteers.
Mr. Speaker, the bill that we are considering today addresses these
issues by establishing an ombudsman within the agency to listen and to
attend to volunteer and employee concerns by increasing the
independence of the Inspector General of the Peace Corps to strengthen
his ability or her ability to act as a watchdog on behalf of
volunteers, also by requiring the agency to study and to report to us
on how it can improve programming for volunteers and by lifting the
term limits for key offices within the agency. I strongly support all
of these provisions.
Now, just as I support this bill to enhance the security and well-
being of the volunteers, I also might mention support for legislation
which I have introduced to create a special postage stamp through the
Peace Stamp Act which calls for the creation of a stamp, the revenues
from which would send money to the Peace Corps. This stamp would help
provide funding, badly needed funding, for the increased Peace Corps
force that President Bush has called for. This bill, H.R. 4060, which
we have before us today, will help us ensure the well-being of an
expanded Peace Corps.
Mr. Speaker, we must not lose sight of the fact that Peace Corps
volunteers for over 40 years have been doing extraordinary jobs as our
development ambassadors to the most remote centers of the world. They
have truly been our very best ambassadors; and they have been doing
their jobs, quite frankly, under very difficult and oftentimes very
risky conditions. However, as we consider measures to improve the
health, safety and security of our volunteers, we must be careful not
to forge shields around our volunteers which will make it harder for
them to reach the young English student, for example, in Central Asia
or the Women's Cooperative in Peru and to reach and really pursue their
own growth and development. So there is this very delicate balance that
we must meet and we must put together, and I believe this bill does
that.
I strongly support passage of this legislation and urge my colleagues
to do so as well.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr.
Farr), a good friend, a great leader in this
[[Page H3560]]
House, a former Peace Corps volunteer who served in Colombia and who
knows the Peace Corps backwards and forwards and who has provided many
years of service not only in this body but in many legislative bodies,
and I think especially and most importantly for us today as our Peace
Corps volunteer.
Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Lee) for yielding me time and for allowing me to join her on the floor
today. I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and
members of the committee for allowing me to attend the hearing that led
to the markup of this bill.
I served in the Peace Corps, and it holds a really special place in
my heart, as it does for four other Members of Congress who are also
return Peace Corps volunteers. Our colleagues, the gentleman from
Connecticut (Mr. Shays), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri), the gentleman from California
(Mr. Honda) and myself all are return Peace Corps volunteers.
In the 1960s I spent 2 years serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in
Colombia, South America. My experience as a Peace Corps volunteer
helped me to motivate my life to public service and I think helped
shape me into the person I am today. And there are tens and tens of
thousands of Americans who have served in the Peace Corps in over 130
countries throughout the world and who have had similar experiences.
The vast majority of the return Peace Corps volunteers agree with the
sentiment that the Peace Corps experience was the toughest job they
ever loved. Peace Corps not only benefits individual Americans, but it
also helps the developing world and makes the world a bit safer one
volunteer at a time. The important community-based jobs the Peace Corps
volunteers perform are instrumental in helping to bring about greater
peace and security in the world. Not only are PCVs helping people in
developing countries overcome poverty, one of the root causes of
terrorism, they are also showing the world a different, friendlier face
of what Americans are really like.
Peace Corps volunteers live, eat and work amongst the people in
countries from Albania to Zambia. In this type of environment, where a
Peace Corps volunteer is teaching hand washing to a child or computer
literacy to a brother, the realization quickly dawns on the people,
regardless of their nationality, that we have more similarities than
differences. This people-to-people interaction is the real recipe for
creating more peace and stability in the world.
Today we are discussing the Health, Safety and Security of Peace
Corps Volunteers Act of 2004, which tries to improve the safety of
volunteers who can sometime serve in isolated areas of the world. H.R.
4060 addresses some important issues and tries to increase the safety
and oversight of the Peace Corps.
I am very pleased that this bill does not mandate that volunteers
must be paired together in communities. The best security measure for
Peace Corps volunteers is for them to integrate quickly into their
communities. Pairing volunteers would impede I think in this
integration into the host country.
My major concern with H.R. 4060, though, is that the safety and
security measures should not take away from the important existing
budgetary requirements of the Peace Corps. Let me end by reminding this
body that in the currently constricted budget environment we need to
carefully allocate our resources. Just recently, General Abizaid, who
is head of the Middle East, let our Committee on Appropriations know
that he thought America would never be able to have world peace until
we were able to cross the cultural divides.
I cannot think of any better investment that the United States
Congress can make than to fully fund the Peace Corps as the President
has requested in his State of the Union Address. What he asked was to
double the size of the Peace Corps, which we have, but now we have
failed to meet the President's demands on what it will take to do that.
That is a very bad mistake at this time in the history of the United
States.
I am glad the Congress is concerned with the safety of volunteers,
but I urge each of our Members, when it comes to the appropriations
process, let us meet the President's request. Let us fully fund the
Peace Corps. Let us indeed teach America how to cross the cultural
divide and create world peace forever.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I will close for our side with just these few comments.
I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) for his
comments and for his really deep and abiding commitment to the Peace
Corps.
I will say that I have had the privilege since I guess about 1980 to
travel and meet with Peace Corps volunteers throughout the world. What
I have witnessed in terms of their level of commitment, their level of
understanding of their work and their real commitment not only to their
region or their community or their village where they are working but
really to the entire world is really phenomenal; and I want to support
the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) in his position and his
comment that we need to fully fund the Peace Corps at the levels that
the administration has requested.
Having said that, let me just say how important this measure is
today. Those Peace Corps volunteers who are out there, as I said
earlier, representing our country, they are really our best
ambassadors; and, minimally, we should provide for every bit of
security and safety that they need, everything that they need to make
their job not only rewarding but safe so that they can return and
really share their experiences with those who have not had the
opportunity to volunteer abroad and help develop even an expanded and
larger Peace Corps force.
Let me thank everyone for their support of this bill for ensuring
that it is a bipartisan bill.
Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Lee) for managing the bill for the Democrats and the gentleman from
California (Mr. Lantos) for his work in crafting this legislation. I
especially want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) for
authoring this very important piece of legislation to make sure to the
greatest extent possible that U.S. professionals--of all ages--who are
deployed abroad as part of the Peace Corps, one of the finest U.S.
initiatives ever created, get the best possible protection and
security. We need to provide them protection, that is second to none,
so that they can be safe and secure.
{time} 1545
Obviously, when people are deployed to dangerous areas, there are
risks that are associated with that commitment. Still, it is up to this
Congress, the State Department, and the administration, to ensure that
no stone is left unturned in trying to make sure that Peace Corps
volunteers are safe and secure in that environment
No bill comes to this floor without a tremendous amount of work by
very competent staff, and Peter Smith has helped to draft this
legislation. I want to thank him especially for his fine work and his
skill and expertise in drafting this bill, as well as Paul Oostburg for
his work on it as well.
Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support H.R. 4060.
Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4060--the
Health, Safety, and Security of Peace Corps Volunteers Act of 2004.
This important measure amends the Peace Corps Act to establish the
Office of the Ombudsman of the Peace Corps. This office will have the
important role of addressing complaints or concerns regarding services
or support provided by the Peace Corps to its Volunteers. The measure
also establishes the Office of Safety and Security of the Peace Corps,
which as the title of the section implies, will be responsible for
safety and security activities of the Peace Corps.
The Peace Corps' mission of compassion, skill-sharing and diplomacy
is more important today than ever before to our global village. As many
parts of the world become an increasingly dangerous place to carry out
this mission, we must do all we can to provide safety and security for
our Volunteers.
[[Page H3561]]
Since 1961, Peace Corps Volunteers have strengthened the ties of
friendship and understanding between the people of the United States
and those of other countries. Some one hundred and seventy thousand
volunteers have served in 137 countries over the past 43 years to make
an impact on this world. We owe it to these Volunteers to create
avenues for their concerns to be heard.
I am proud to say that as a young man, I served as a Volunteer in the
Republic of El Salvador, building schools and health clinics, learning
the language, and developing an enduring bond with the people, culture,
and language. The experience instilled in me a profound connection to
that country, and a dedication to improving international relations
around the world.
Over the past 43 years, the Peace Corps has become an enduring symbol
of our nation's commitment to progress, opportunity, and development at
the grass-roots level in the developing world.
Mr. Speaker, the Peace Corps has been a part of my life for almost
forty years. I have served as a Volunteer, I have supported important
Peace Corps legislation and today I rise in support of the Health,
Safety, and Security of Peace Corps Volunteers Act of 2004.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of our
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Murphy). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4060.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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