[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 10, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5993-H5994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        AMERICA'S PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS--OUR AMBASSADORS ABROAD

  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 volunteers are 
our angels abroad. They represent the very best about America. They 
give years of their lives to help people they have never met in some of 
the most remote areas of the world.
  Often this means putting their own safety at risk, expecting the 
United States to have their backs. But right now we are not doing 
enough to protect them while they are overseas. This will change with 
the Sam Farr and Nick Castle Peace Corps Reform Act sponsored by myself 
and Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts.
  Many returning volunteers, like Sara Thompson, struggle to receive 
the medical care they need while they are in a foreign country. Sara's 
troubles began when the Peace Corps prescribed a medication called 
mefloquine to protect her from malaria. But during her service in 
Burkina Faso, she began to have horrific nightmares and struggled with 
her mental health. When she turned to the Peace Corps for help, the 
medical officer excused her symptoms by simply saying: You are not 
adjusting well.
  The nausea and nightmares continued. With no support from the Peace 
Corps, she started to research the problems. It was then she realized 
the malaria medicine the Peace Corps had given her was making her sick. 
But today she still deals with these medical issues and feels abandoned 
by our Peace Corps.
  Peace Corps volunteer Nick Castle died in rural China after an 
inefficient, under-equipped, and unresponsive Peace Corps-led medical 
team made gross mistakes in treating his illness.
  The Sam Farr and Nick Castle Peace Corps Reform Act establishes 
criteria for in-country medical doctors and ensures that they have the 
resources they need to take care of our volunteers. Giving our 
volunteers the best medical care possible is an absolute necessity when 
they are serving America.
  There is more. A brave volunteer told me recently about the daily 
sexual harassment she experienced while she served overseas. In broad 
daylight, men would grope and threaten her as she walked home from 
school. One afternoon at the market, the cashier threatened to break 
into her house in the middle of the night and sexually assault her. So 
she reported this to the Peace Corps, and they assured her that these 
men were just joking. No surprise, the harassment continued.
  Finally, she made the decision to return to America. She could no 
longer bear the constant hostile environment. The Peace Corps recorded 
her reason for leaving as difficulty in adapting to the culture. In 
other words, the sexual assaults were her fault.
  Are you kidding me?
  Sexual assault and harassment should never be excused as joking and 
should never be brushed off as a cultural norm.
  Mr. Speaker, as a former judge and co-chairman of the Victims' Rights 
Caucus, I would point out that sexual assault is never the fault of the 
victim.
  This bill creates new trainings and safeguards to protect volunteers 
from sexual assault and harassment. It also makes the Office of Victim 
Advocacy a permanent establishment.
  Then there is Peace Corps volunteer Jennifer Mamola. Early one 
morning, Jennifer was walking with two friends to a bus stop. Out of 
nowhere, a drunk driver ran into them. One volunteer was killed. Both 
of Jennifer's legs were broken. So she returned home to America still 
bedridden and loaded on pain medication. She faced an uphill battle of 
endless bureaucracy to receive treatment and surgeries. After months of 
fighting government bureaucrats, she was finally granted treatment.
  Far too often volunteers fall between the cracks and are forced to 
pay exorbitant medical bills out of pocket until the Department of 
Labor decides to cover their medical situation. So this bill would 
provide medical coverage to returning volunteers while they wait for 
the Department of Labor to give them the medical benefits they deserve.
  The changes in this bill will go a long way in keeping our volunteers 
safe.

[[Page H5994]]

The bill provides Peace Corps volunteers critical information regarding 
the country that they are going to serve in. It also requires the Peace 
Corps to provide volunteers with access to medical doctors while they 
are overseas. And it makes the Sexual Assault Advisory Council and 
Office of Victims' Advocacy permanent. It also extends volunteers' 
medical benefits upon their return home until their coverage kicks in 
from the Department of Labor.
  Mr. Speaker, we must not continue to send our volunteers out into the 
world without adequate protections against harm. Give them a qualified 
medical doctor, and we must have an effective healthcare system to take 
care of them when they return. Our government should fight for our 
Peace Corps volunteers, not fight against them.
  And that is just the way it is.

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