[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 99 (Thursday, June 14, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5157-H5158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SARA THOMPSON--PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, America's Peace Corps and those 
volunteers are our angels abroad. They represent the very best in 
America. Here with us today in the gallery, we have one of those brave 
volunteers, Ms. Sara Thompson.
  Since she was a little girl, Sara dreamed of helping rural 
communities in Africa. When she grew up, the Peace Corps gave her that 
perfect opportunity. She served in Burkina Faso, where she worked to 
keep girls in school.
  Unfortunately, her dream turned into a tragedy when the Peace Corps 
prescribed medication called mefloquine to protect her from malaria. 
During her service, she began to have horrific nightmares and struggled 
with mental health.
  When she turned to the Peace Corps for help, the medical officer 
excused her symptoms as simply ``not adjusting well.'' One night, Sara 
woke up dizzy, nauseous, and threw up the entire night, so she went to 
the doctor, and the doctor told her it was an ear infection.
  Months later still, Sara struggled with nausea and nightmares. And 
with no support from the Peace Corps, she took matters into her own 
hands and started to research those medical problems. It was then that 
she realized the malaria medicine the Peace Corps had given her was 
making her sick.
  As it turns out, mefloquine's side effects are so terrible, Special 
Operation Forces in the Army won't even take that medication. Sara was 
never warned about these horrific side effects by the Peace Corps, and 
the doctors in her post country didn't seem to recognize the symptoms 
either.
  Our Peace Corps volunteers deserve better. They deserve better care 
than this, but, unfortunately, I have heard too many stories like 
Sara's about Peace Corps volunteers. Young, enthusiastic volunteers 
eager to make a difference in the world are let down by the 
organization that they once held in such high esteem.
  Peace Corps volunteers selflessly sacrifice years of their lives to 
help people that they have never even met, often in some of the most 
desolate, dangerous places on the globe.
  Their service to our country should not turn into a nightmare that 
ruins or even ends their lives because we don't take care of them. 
Small, commonsense changes could make a big difference in protecting 
our Peace Corps volunteers abroad and when they get home.
  That is why Representative Kennedy and I introduced the Sam Farr and 
Nick Castle Peace Corps Reform Act. This bill has passed our Committee 
on Foreign Affairs and takes important first steps for our angels 
abroad. It betters medical care for volunteers in the country, improves 
training on the side effects of malaria medications, and allows the 
Peace Corps to better prescribe other types of malaria medication.
  In addition, this bill better protects our volunteers from sexual 
assault and harassment when they are in foreign countries. When they 
return, it extends their health coverage, so they can get the care they 
need rather than stop taking care of them, as has happened in the past.
  There is still more that needs to be done to ensure the safety and 
security of those wonderful volunteers. They deserve to be protected by 
the United States and our law when we send them to far reaches of the 
world. When they return from service with injuries and sickness, 
volunteers should be able to make ends meet with the disability payment 
that they receive, which is not the case now.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope to see these provisions in law some day, but 
until then, the Sam Farr and Nick Castle Peace Corps Reform Act makes 
critical improvements for our volunteers. It is essential to see it 
become law.
  Peace Corps volunteers like Sara are the face of our country in 
places where America's shining beacon of hope and liberty to other 
people may not always shine so bright without Peace Corps volunteers. 
These individuals promote goodwill, a better understanding of the 
United States, and this helps us secure enduring partnerships with 
these nations.
  It also does good in the country that they are in. They change lives 
every day in local communities that they serve, and they do this many 
times when they are alone. We must ensure we are doing all we can to 
minimize unnecessary dangers for our Peace

[[Page H5158]]

Corps volunteers, both at home and abroad.
  The Sam Farr and Nick Castle Peace Corps Reform Act is a crucial 
first step, and I urge leadership to bring this bill to a vote soon.
  As a former judge, I can tell you that it is our duty to do 
everything within our power to protect these angels abroad. These 
goodwill ambassadors like Sara Thompson are some of America's best, and 
America must take care of them when they serve overseas, when they are 
helping people overseas, and when they return home to America from 
being overseas.
  And that is just the way it is.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would remind Members that the 
rules do not allow references to persons in the gallery.

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