[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 25 (Thursday, March 2, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E275-E276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HAPPY 45TH ANNIVERSARY TO THE PEACE CORPS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 2, 2006

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, the week of February 27 to March 3 is Peace 
Corps week and on March 1st we celebrated the 45th Anniversary of the 
founding of the Peace Corps. Over the last 45 years Peace Corps has 
become one of our nation's premier international assistance programs 
that has focused on helping communities and individuals help 
themselves.
  I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Medellin, Colombia in the mid-
1960s and I can say definitively that it was a life changing 
experience. During my two years in Colombia, I learned that the most 
sustainable type of development was when locals were empowered to 
create their own development. I therefore worked on educating and 
assisting my Colombian colleagues, neighbors and friends on how to 
petition their local governments and make positive changes in their own 
lives.
  In the years since I returned from Colombia thousands of Americans 
have served as Peace Corps Volunteers. Each of these volunteers has 
made a difference, large or small, in the lives of hundreds of people 
across the globe. Person-to-person relationships like those built by 
PCVs are key to greater understanding--greater American understanding 
of other cultures, and greater understanding of Americans by other 
cultures.
  In this time of increasing tension between countries, now more than 
ever, we need programs like the Peace Corps. I urge my colleagues to 
support the President's FY 07 request for the Peace Corps at $337 
million. We need to robustly fund Peace Corps so that during the next 
45 years, Peace Corps Volunteers can continue to make a positive 
difference in countries all over the world.

[[Page E276]]

  I wish the Peace Corps a very happy 45th anniversary.

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