[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 4, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO THE PEACE CORPS 47TH ANNIVERSARY

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                         HON. VERNON J. EHLERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 4, 2008

   Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my support and 
appreciation for the Peace Corps on their 47th anniversary. Since 1961, 
more than 190,000 American volunteers have served in 139 developing 
countries around the world. Since its founding, the Peace Corps has 
sought to meet its legislative mandate of promoting world peace and 
friendship by sending American volunteers to serve at the grassroots 
level in villages and towns abroad, These Peace Corps volunteers live 
and work with local people, helping them improve their lives, and 
helping them understand American culture. The volunteers often work as 
teachers, environmental and agriculture specialists, health promoters, 
and small business advisors.
   I have been an extremely strong supporter of the Peace Corps ever 
since President John F. Kennedy first proposed it in a speech in Ann 
Arbor, Michigan, many years ago. The Peace Corps is one of America's 
most effective ways to share our compassion and values abroad, and, in 
many instances, the volunteers play the important role of dispelling 
myths about the U.S. I would dearly love to see the Peace Corps double 
or triple in size.
   I also praise and recognize those volunteers from the Third 
Congressional District of Michigan who are currently serving abroad in 
the Peace Corps. My thanks go out to: Chad Anderson, serving in Uganda; 
Brent Benner, serving in Peru; Edna Bermejo, serving in Mauritania; 
Brendan Brink-Halloran, serving in Guatemala; Amanda Collier, serving 
in Romania; Christopher De Bruyn, serving in Mongolia; Adrienne 
Gilbert, serving in the Dominican Republic; Sara Igleski, serving in 
Jordan; Rachel Jacobs, serving in Zambia; Joshua Johnson, serving in 
Romania; Jeffrey Luehm, serving in El Salvador; Elizabeth Smith, 
serving in Senegal; Joseph Stevens, serving in Bolivia; Daniel Vander 
Ploeg, serving in Kazakhstan; Meredith Vanover, serving in Ukraine; 
Kirstin Webster, serving in Romania; Daniel Westerhof, serving in 
Paraguay; and Michael Wilcox, serving in Senegal.
   Again, congratulations to the Peace Corps on their 47th anniversary. 
I thank and commend all of those who so faithfully volunteer to serve 
our Nation abroad.




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