[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3447-3453]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     PEACE CORPS ACT AUTHORIZATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 83 and rule 
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 669.

                              {time}  1155


                     In the Committee of the Whole

  Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the 
Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill 
(H.R. 669) to amend the Peace Corps Act to authorize appropriations for 
fiscal years 2000 through 2003 to carry out that Act, and for other 
purposes, with Mr. Pease in the chair.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as having 
been read the first time.
  Under the rule, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) and the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson) each will control 30 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, the main purpose of H.R. 6689 is to reauthorize 
appropriations to expand the Peace Corps to President Ronald Reagan's 
goal of 10,000 volunteers. This legislation was introduced by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell) and the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), and I am proud to be a cosponsor along 
with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) and the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton). I understand that all three 
Republican and all three Democratic Members who served in the Peace 
Corps cosponsored this bill. Senator Coverdell and Senator Dodd will 
introduce companion legislation in the Senate.
  Mr. Chairman, 14 years ago Ronald Reagan's late beloved Peace Corps 
director, Loret Ruppe, gave us a vision of a Peace Corps that could 
grow to 10,000 volunteers, and today we renew that goal on a bipartisan 
basis, working with the administration and with the minority in 
Congress to realize that vision.
  This bill was carefully drafted in cooperation with the 
administration and with OMB, and while we initially planned to get the 
Peace Corps to 10,000 by the year 2000, budget realities and our 
concern for the planned and orderly expansion of the Corps means that 
we will reach our goal by the year 2003. This is a slower pace than we 
like and with which the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Callahan) has 
indicated he would be more comfortable.
  We choose the Peace Corps as one of our first orders of business 
because it represents the best part of our foreign assistance programs. 
The Peace Corps remains foremost in the imagination of America's young 
people. From President Kennedy to President Reagan and now to President 
Clinton, the Peace Corps serves as a symbol of what is best in our own 
Nation and its humanitarian missions around the world.
  Today, there are millions of people around the world whose first 
impression of our Nation is through a Peace Corps volunteer. To date, 
over 150,000 Americans have served in the Peace Corps, including seven 
U.S. ambassadors, five current Members of Congress and Senator Dodd, 
and they represent an invaluable corps of veterans who speak over 80 
languages in some of the countries most important in advancing our 
Nation's nationality security, economic and humanitarian interests.
  Mr. Chairman, the Peace Corps is changing. It is not the same young 
people going overseas just to teach English. More people are 
volunteering after retiring, providing a wealth of knowledge and 
experience to their projects.
  Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan formed the Crisis Corps to bring 
former volunteers back to the most difficult projects of importance to 
our Nation. For example, Crisis Corps volunteers are serving today in 
Central America, helping those nations recover from the 200-year 
devastation of Hurricane Mitch.

                              {time}  1200

  House passage of this bill will demonstrate that the Congress is back 
at work, passing important legislation and doing it on a bipartisan 
basis.
  Accordingly, Mr. Chairman, I urge support for this measure, and I 
insert the following for the Record:


                              The Director of the Peace Corps,

                                    Washington, DC, March 3, 1998.
     Hon. Benjamin Gilman,
     Committee on International Relations,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to convey my sincere 
     appreciation to you and the other Members of the Committee 
     for your decision to authorize an increase of $29 million for 
     the Peace Corps FY 2000 budget. The Peace Corps has been 
     fortunate to enjoy bipartisan support in the Congress for 
     many years. On behalf of the Peace Corps, I wish to thank you 
     for the strong leadership that you have brought to bear in 
     making it possible for more Americans to serve our country as 
     Peace Corps Volunteers. If Congress appropriates the 
     Committee's authorized funding level, there will be 8,000 
     Volunteers serving overseas by the end of FY 2000. This 
     proposed budget will keep the Peace Corps on the path to 
     achieving the goal that Congress established for us in 1985--
     to field a Volunteer Corps of 10,000--in the early part of 
     the next century.
       This is a particularly appropriate moment in the Peace 
     Corps history to undertake a careful effort to expand the 
     number of Volunteers. Today, there are nearly 6,700 
     Volunteers serving in 79 countries. In recent years, however, 
     the requests for Peace Corps Volunteers that we have received 
     from developing countries has generally far exceeded the 
     capacity of our budget. There is a reason for this: Our 
     Volunteers are making important and lasting contributions to 
     the development of some of the world's poorest communities. 
     Their work at the grass-roots level in education, small 
     business development, the environment, health, and 
     agriculture has become a model of success for other 
     international development agencies. Given the pressing need 
     for this kind of people-to-people assistance, I am confident 
     that the additional Volunteers we recruit will have effective 
     and successful jobs in their overseas communities.
       As the need for the service of Peace Corps Volunteers 
     continues to rise overseas, I am pleased to report to you 
     that we have seen an equally significant increase in interest 
     in Peace Corps service among Americans here at home. Each 
     year, tens of thousands of our fellow citizens contact the 
     Peace Corps seeking information about serving as a Volunteer, 
     and thousands of more of our citizens apply for Peace Corps 
     service than our budget can fund. This growth in interest in 
     the Peace Corps reflects our country's great tradition of 
     service and our willingness to work with people in some of 
     the world's poorest

[[Page 3448]]

     countries who want to build a better future for their 
     communities. I believe that now is the time to enable more of 
     our citizens to offer their skills in the cause of peace and 
     progress in the developing world.
       I also wish to assure you and the Committee that the Peace 
     Corps is prepared to manage this growth in the Volunteers 
     corps in a responsible manner. In recent years, the Peace 
     Corps has implemented a series of operational policies that 
     have reduced the agency's overhead costs and improved the way 
     we conduct our business. We have reduced the size of our 
     headquarters staff, closed five regional recruitment offices, 
     and closed 18 overseas programs. These cost savings have 
     allowed us to open new and exciting Volunteer programs in 
     South Africa, Jordan, Mozambique, and Bangladesh. Moreover, 
     these management streamlining efforts will also ensure that 
     the Peace Corps can recruit, train, and support additional 
     Volunteers under the Committee's authorized funding level.
       Finally, Peace Corps Volunteers are fulfilling an even 
     larger purpose through their service in the developing world: 
     By living and working overseas for two years, they are 
     strengthening the ties of friendship and cross-cultural 
     understanding between our citizens and the people of other 
     countries. In the process, they build enormous goodwill for 
     our country and make an intangible contribution to our 
     country's long-term interests abroad. As we look to maintain 
     America's leadership in the next century, our understanding 
     of other people and cultures will assume an even greater 
     importance in maintaining our international leadership. I 
     believe that there are few organizations that can contribute 
     as much to America's understanding of the world beyond our 
     borders as the Peace Corps.
       Mr. Chairman, as part of our efforts to mark the 38th 
     anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps, yesterday 
     thousands of former Volunteers visited classrooms in every 
     state to talk with students about the cross-cultural 
     experience they gained while serving in the Peace Corps. This 
     is but one example of how Peace Corps Volunteers continue 
     their service, even after returning home, and our country can 
     take great pride in what our Volunteers are accomplishing 
     overseas every day. I thank you and the other Members of the 
     Committee for providing the support that is so vital to the 
     thousands of other Americans who want to take part in the 
     Peace Corps experience, and I look forward to working with 
     you to make our goal of 10,000 Volunteers a reality.
       Best wishes.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Mark D. Gearan,
                                                         Director.

  Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Chairman, oftentimes the debate on the floor is whether the 
investment of the taxpayers' resources is commensurate with the benefit 
we get as a country from the expenditure. The entire foreign assistance 
program is less than 1 percent of the Federal budget, and the Peace 
Corps is less than 1 percent of that budget.
  When we take a look at the impact it has on the world community from 
President Kennedy's initiation of this program, there is no American 
program that has been a better ambassador for America and its values 
than the Peace Corps.
  I think a sense of what the broad-based support in this Congress is 
for this program is not because of a Washington decision, it is a 
decision in the countryside. The American people like what the Peace 
Corps does. It takes people with normal skills in survival, building 
dams, houses, finding ways to train people better, and puts them in 
countries where they are desperately needed.
  Unlike other programs that are often hard to calculate in their 
impact, that have fungible effects on their economy, this is one where 
we can see one individual helping a family, helping a village, and 
representing the very best of our American society.
  So I am proud to be here today to support this budget, to support the 
Administration's request to make sure there is adequate funding so 
these ambassadors for America's best interest can continue to do their 
job. I would hope that my colleagues would all join together in 
supporting this legislation.
  Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell), a sponsor of the legislation.
  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Gilman) for giving me the honor to present this bill on the floor. I 
would not be here were it not for the graciousness of the chairman of 
the Committee on International Relations, who asked me to carry this 
very important legislation.
  At the start, I also want to recognize the very fine leadership of 
Mark Gearan and the Administration's strong support for this Peace 
Corps reauthorization bill. We truly have a bipartisan consensus that 
this is a way to show to the rest of the world the very best that 
America has to offer; that funds for the Peace Corps are, in my 
judgment, the best dollars that we spend in the foreign assistance 
categories.
  This reauthorization bill permits the increase in numbers of 
volunteers from today's level of 6,700 to eventually 10,000 by the year 
2003. I note that this is, as a benchmark, still not the maximum that 
we have ever had in the Peace Corps. That was reached in 1966, when we 
had 15,000. But it is a goal towards which we have been directing our 
efforts for some time.
  Presently, we have more people in America applying to be Peace Corps 
volunteers, qualified to be Peace Corps volunteers, qualified to be 
ambassadors of our country overseas, and to do good at the most basic 
levels overseas, we have more volunteers for that task than we have 
budget authority to employ.
  For example, over the last 4 years, the numbers of Americans 
requesting applications for the Peace Corps has gone up by 40 percent. 
Financially, though, over the last 4 years, we have only been able to 
adopt and make part of the Peace Corps an increase of 2 percent.
  Since its inception, over 150,000 Americans have served in the Peace 
Corps. I am proud to relate that every returning Peace Corps volunteer 
member of this House of Representatives is a cosponsor of the bill. I 
draw particular attention to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Chris 
Shays), the gentleman from California (Mr. Sam Farr), the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Jim Walsh), and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Tom Petri); and over in the other body, Senators Dodd and Coverdell. 
Senator Coverdell is not technically a returned volunteer, but he was 
director of the Peace Corps under President George Bush.
  Mr. Chairman, I have a personal interest in Africa that I have 
attempted to bring to the attention of my colleagues on many occasions. 
Whenever I travel to Africa, I try to focus on the poorest countries, 
the countries of greatest need. My wife travels with me. Susanne and I 
have visited, just in the last few months, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, 
Mali, and in previous trips, as well, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, 
Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo.
  Every time we visit we make a point to see the Peace Corps 
volunteers, to find out what they are doing, to talk with them. Then I 
will frequently write a note to the individuals' parents to let them 
know how proud we are of the job they are doing. Recently, Mr. 
Chairman, I have been writing notes to their children, because the 
Peace Corps now is taking more and more Americans who have finished a 
career and have decided to give to their country and give to their 
world at that stage in their lives, a little departure from what we 
might have originally identified with the Peace Corps.
  This bill allows adequate funding to allow this increase in 
volunteers and to make other changes in the authorizing legislation, so 
that Peace Corps volunteers and employees will have many of the same 
benefits accorded to members of the Foreign Service.
  Affirmatively, it is good for our country, good for the world. But in 
addition, I wish to anticipate those who have criticized the Peace 
Corps, who have been very few over the years, but there have been some, 
and to the extent that those criticisms were valid, it is my judgment 
that this director of the Peace Corps, Mr. Mark Gearan, has superbly 
addressed them.
  I note, for example, that under his leadership the Peace Corps has 
now accomplished an actual reduction of 13 percent in the United 
States-based

[[Page 3449]]

staff, putting more of the Peace Corps resources overseas where they 
make such a difference.
  The Peace Corps has also achieved a 14 percent decrease in the annual 
cost of a volunteer. Under Mark Gearan's directorship we have closed 
unnecessary regional recruiting offices, and consolidated our 
activities overseas.
  The administration, in other words, has improved the Peace Corps 
until it is, in my judgment, to be compared favorably with any of our 
foreign assistance programs.
  Lastly, Mr. Chairman, I want to add a personal note, that when my 
wife and I were in Senegal we witnessed the opening of the Karen 
Robinson Center just outside Dakar, a center that was created to assist 
albino children who, in that society, had theretofore been social 
outcasts and who also had physical disabilities particularly associated 
with the bright sun, the danger of exposure to sun, due to their lack 
of pigmentation, as well as the near-sightedness that is oftentimes 
associated with albinism.
  The point is that this center, opened for this remarkably 
compassionate purpose, was named for a Peace Corps volunteer whose idea 
it was, who arranged the local funding, who arranged the assistance 
with the local authorities, so that it happened.
  Mr. Chairman, there are stories like the Karen Robinson Center in 
every country throughout Africa that I have been privileged to visit 
over the last 3 years. I conclude by saying that of all of the honors 
that the chairman of the Committee on International Relations could 
have given me, his designation of me to be the author of this bill is 
certainly the highest. I am most grateful.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, it is a great pleasure to yield 5 
minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo).
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, I thank our very distinguished ranking 
member, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson).
  I am very proud to rise today in support of H.R. 669, a bill which is 
designed to expand the Peace Corps so it can meet the demands and 
challenges as it heads into the 21st century.
  Mr. Chairman, the extraordinary vision of President Kennedy really 
lives on today through the Peace Corps. In the Congress of the United 
States, we have our own honor roll of former Peace Corps members: in 
the House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Sam Farr), the gentleman 
from Connecticut (Mr. Chris Shays), the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Jim Walsh); certainly in the Senate, Chris Dodd, the late Paul Tsongas.
  Mr. Chairman, when we send Peace Corps volunteers overseas, we do not 
just export our volunteers. We really are exporting American values. 
Our Peace Corps volunteers demonstrate firsthand what it means to build 
community and to build democracy. We export our great intellectual 
genius with each one of our volunteers.
  The Peace Corps has always enjoyed a bipartisan support in the 
Congress. The proposed increases in this bill really represent, I 
think, a very small investment for a large return. By sending our best 
and our brightest ambassadors, the Peace Corps itself is one of the 
most effective and long-lasting foreign policy tools that the United 
States of America has.
  At a time when so many of our young people, Mr. Chairman, are turning 
away from public service, are not interested in it, the Peace Corps is 
actually inundated with applications and is having to turn people away 
from that service. We know that we need to match their idealism and 
their attraction to the Peace Corps.
  The number of Americans requesting applications and information about 
the Peace Corps has increased by more than 40 percent over the last 4 
years. Yet, the Peace Corps is only able to increase its volunteers by 
2 percent during this same period.
  I am exceedingly proud to be a political descendant of John 
Fitzgerald Kennedy, and I am an unabashed idealist. President Kennedy's 
aspirations live on today, and the torch, as he said, has been passed 
to a new generation. That new generation includes my son, Paul Eshoo, 
who is a volunteer in the Peace Corps today in Nepal, in the Himalayas.
  I cannot wait to send him an e-mail to say that this legislation has 
passed, and that with it, the Congress of the United States really not 
only thanks and acknowledges what the volunteers in the Peace Corps are 
doing all around the world, but that we match our idealism and our 
pragmatism in the investment of America's tax dollars in the hopes and 
aspirations of people around the world.
  So I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. It is very well 
put together. If in fact the amendment that would flatten out this 
budget is offered, I urge my colleagues to vote against it. It is an 
amendment to diminish aspirations. It would be an amendment to diminish 
the hopes and aspirations of generations and generations that have seen 
fit to go around the world and be America's best ambassadors.
  The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Campbell) will control the time allotted to the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Gilman).
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Chairman, before introducing the next speaker, I am proud to say 
that my colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), has 
added her strong support for this legislation. I have the highest 
regard for my neighbor and colleague.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my distinguished colleague, the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), the chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the Committee on International 
Relations.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding time 
to me.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 669, the Peace Corps 
Reauthorization Act, which will strengthen the impact of the Peace 
Corps. This legislation was introduced by our distinguished colleague, 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell), and cosponsored by the 
distinguished chairman of the committee, the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Gilman), the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. 
Gejdenson), the ranking member of the Committee on International 
Relations, and many other members, including this Member.
  We passed this bill from the committee unanimously on February 11th. 
I would congratulate the distinguished gentleman from California for 
introducing this act which, if passed and signed into law, would 
authorize the expansion of the Peace Corps to 10,000 volunteers by the 
year 2003. It will be fulfilling the goal set by former President 
Ronald Reagan in 1985, who built on the legacy of President John F. 
Kennedy.
  Mr. Chairman, in the 38 years since the Peace Corps was established, 
its volunteers have compiled a distinguished record of service to 
people in countries around the world. Volunteers provide badly needed, 
at times critical, assistance, while at the same time embodying not 
just the technical know-how but also the ideals and the can-do spirit 
of the American people.
  The annals of the Peace Corps are replete with examples of 
communities strengthened and lives changed, both among those who have 
received the assistance and among the volunteers themselves, who come 
back to this country and continue to provide service to our Nation's 
communities.
  Former volunteers have gone on to distinguished careers in many 
fields, including five Peace Corps alumni who are members of this body. 
There can be little doubt that the type of--that the need for the type 
of assistance the Peace Corps provides remains great. At the same time, 
this Member is pleased to note that there is no shortage of Americans, 
both young people and those with years or even decades of experience, 
willing to dedicate a significant period of their lives to volunteering 
to assist others.
  In its 38-year history, more than 1,200 volunteers have come from 
this Member's low population State of Nebraska,

[[Page 3450]]

including 63 Nebraskans currently providing this important form of 
volunteer service.
  As a personal note, a former intern of this Member's staff in whom we 
take great pride was Tammy Ortega, who performed in an exemplary 
fashion as a Peace Corps volunteer in ecuadorial Guinea. This Nation 
should be proud that we have individuals like Tammy who are willing to 
devote 2 or more years of their lives to helping those less fortunate.
  Mr. Chairman, for many reasons, this Member is pleased both to 
cosponsor this important bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to 
support H.R. 669, introduced by our distinguished colleague, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell).

                              {time}  1215

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) a distinguished member of the 
Committee on Appropriations, a subcommittee chairman, and himself a 
returned Peace Corps volunteer.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Campbell), my good friend, colleague, and classmate for his hard work 
on this important issue.
  Mr. Chairman, the Peace Corps not only benefits the world, it 
benefits our country, it benefits the individual. Everyone wins in this 
program. It is a remarkably ingenious idea. Take America's idealistic 
youth, send them around the world. They learn, the people in the other 
countries learn, there is a benefit to all.
  Then these young people come back to the United States and, 
throughout our society, they are engaged and active in making this a 
better country, just as they were when they visited Nepal or Ghana or 
any of the other Peace Corps locations around the world.
  Mr. Chairman, I have a bias, obviously, as a returned Peace Corps 
volunteer. But the fact is, the world is changing. We have seen great 
progress here in our country. But in some places in the world, the 
countries are actually poorer. People are in more difficult conditions 
than they were when I was a volunteer 25 or 30 years ago, so the need 
is still there. And, as the world changes, other countries open up to 
this idea, and we need to fulfill that need.
  I just recently returned to India and to Nepal to my village. It was 
a remarkable homecoming for me. I saw people who were there when I was 
there. I renewed relationships. Visually, it was very much the same as 
when I left, although there were improvements in permanent housing. 
They have electricity in the village now. They have municipal water in 
the village.
  We used to have to boil the water and put iodine in it to make sure 
it was drinkable. Today, they have municipal water throughout the 
village. Two weeks after I returned home, I received an e-mail from my 
village. Talk about amazing. When I was there, the only machine that I 
saw on a regular basis was the Thailand International jet that flew 
over on Tuesday.
  The world is changing dramatically and rapidly as it gets smaller, as 
the world gets smaller. And with this Internet now that is reaching out 
and touching every village, literally, in the world, the personal 
relationships that Peace Corps volunteers make and the associations 
they make with people from all these different countries can only 
benefit our country.
  We will be more and more a global citizen, more and more involved in 
all of these countries, and the more knowledge we have of the rest of 
the world through these individuals can only make us stronger.
  Mr. Speaker, those are the emotional, the idealistic views. Let me 
tell a few things about the Peace Corps. They are changing, too, with 
the improvements that Director Gearan has made. They have reduced 
headquarters staff by 13 percent. They have reduced the number of 
domestic recruiting offices. They have reduced the cost to support 
volunteers in the field. All of this with the thought in mind that we 
need to be better and smarter and work faster, reduce the cost of 
government.
  But, at the same time, the investment that we are making in these 
individuals in those countries and ultimately in our own country is a 
sound investment that we need to support today.
  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this 
legislation. I have always supported the Peace Corps and the invaluable 
work their volunteers provide because I have seen it first hand. These 
volunteers are informal ambassadors for the United States. They spread 
our culture and values while learning and absorbing from people in some 
of the most remote areas of the world. More importantly, they bring 
these cultures back with them to the United States and educate friends 
and neighbors on the communities that most only read about in 
magazines.
  I have traveled to some of these areas where Peace Corps volunteers 
are working. Time and again, I am always impressed with the volunteers 
I meet. Their acceptance into the community and the hard work they 
provide is truly remarkable. Just when you think you have reached the 
most remote area on earth, there is a Peace Corps volunteer helping to 
build a house or sow a field.
  Since the Peace Corps' inception thirty-eight years ago, its 
popularity has only grown. In 1998, more than 150,000 individuals 
contacted the Peace Corps to inquire about becoming a volunteer, this 
is an increase of over forty percent since 1994. We must make sure that 
the Peace Corps is able to meet this demand. Further, I believe that 
success and effectiveness should be rewarded. Therefore, I strongly 
support this reauthorization and the goal of reaching 10,000 volunteers 
by fiscal year 2003.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, on the 38th anniversary of the founding by 
President Kennedy of the Peace Corps, one of our nation's most 
successful international relief and development programs, I rise in 
support of Peace Corps reauthorization funding to meet President 
Clinton's goal of expanding the number of volunteers to 10,000 early in 
the new millennium.
  Thanks to the 150,000 peace corps volunteers who have served 
overseas, communities around the world have benefited from and continue 
to reap the benefits of the contributions of the Peace Corps. 6,700 
volunteers are serving in 80 countries, working to bring clean water to 
communities, teaching children, helping to develop small businesses, 
and preventing the spread of AIDS.
  Today, volunteers are making contributions by working along side 
local people throughout the world as AIDS and environmental educators, 
business advisors and teachers. Through their work, they are helping 
people of developing countries to help themselves for only 1 percent of 
our foreign aid budget.
  There is no greater testament to the success of this program than the 
Peace Corps Director's recent visit with Kenya's minister of public 
works who had been taught by a Peace Corps volunteer and Tanzania's 
minister of education who could still recall all of his Peace Corps 
teachers. Communities around the world, including our own, are better 
off today as a result of Peace Corps volunteers, their mission, their 
contributions and their commitment to service.
  The Peace Corps is a successful international diplomacy program that 
is improving the lives of people in the developing world and enriching 
the lives of Peace Corps volunteers who return from the field to 
contribute to their own communities across this nation. We can be proud 
of this program and its legacies and salute the members of this body 
who have served.
  Volunteers are returning home to be leaders in every field. Young and 
old of all backgrounds are not only sharing their commitment to 
altruism and volunteerism throughout the world, but are coming home to 
continue their commitment to service in an ever increasing multi-
cultural society. As the Ranking Member of the Foreign Operations 
Subcommittee, I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 669.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 669, 
which will expand our sensible investment in the Peace Corps.
  As an original cosponsor of this important legislation, I am proud to 
join my colleagues today in support of the Peace Corps, one of our most 
effective foreign assistance tools.
  This bill, which has broad bipartisan support, will increase the 
number of Peace Corps volunteers to 10,000 over the next four years. It 
is especially fitting that we make this commitment today, just a day 
after the Peace Corps celebrated its 38th birthday.
  Under the outstanding leadership of Mark Gearan, the Peace Corps has 
become a lean and effective advocate for the United States' foreign 
assistance goals around the world.

[[Page 3451]]

With almost 7,000 volunteers in about 80 countries, the Peace Corps has 
brought assistance in education, microcredit, health care, and a range 
of other fields to millions of people in Latin America, Africa, Eastern 
Europe, the Pacific, and the Middle East.
  This bill responds to the increasing demand for the Peace Corps, both 
in the United States and around the world. Here in the United States, 
interest in volunteering in the Peace Corps has increased by 40 percent 
over the last four years. And Peace Corps volunteers continue to be 
welcomed into communities around the world for their unique ability to 
work closely with the indigenous populations to implement successful 
development projects.
  Mr. Chairman, this bill makes good sense. The Administration supports 
it. Congress has been on the record since 1985 in support of the goal 
of 10,000 Peace Corps volunteers. And even this increase would still 
leave Peace Corps funding at only one percent of our foreign aid 
budget, which itself is less than one percent of our overall federal 
budget.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Peace Corps by voting for H.R. 
669.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of 
the Peace Corps Act (H.R. 669). This bill authorizes appropriations for 
fiscal years 2000 through 2003. This organization has a legacy of 
service that has become an important part of American history.
  President John F. Kennedy first proposed the idea of the Peace Corps 
during a campaign stop at the University of Michigan in 1960. He 
challenged the students to give two years of their lives to help people 
in the developing world.
  Later in his inaugural address, President Kennedy stated the 
philosophy of the organization: ``To those peoples in the huts and 
villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass 
misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves.'' The 
Peace Corps was officially established on March 1, 1961 by an Executive 
Order. Sargent Shriver was appointed as its first director.
  Since its inception, the Peace Corps has trained 150,000 volunteers 
to work in 134 countries. Currently there are 6,700 volunteers serving 
in 80 countries. The increased funding proposed in this bill would 
allow the Peace Corps to expand to its goal of 10,000 volunteers. It 
would also allow the Peace Corps programs to expand to South Africa, 
Jordan, China, Bangladesh, Mozambique and other countries in Central 
Asia, the Middle East, South America, Eastern Europe and Africa.
  For the past 38 years, the Peace Corps has been an important part of 
our foreign assistance program. It helps communities gain access to 
clean water, grow food, prevent the spread of AIDS and work to protect 
the environment.
  Some Peace Corps volunteers include current members of this House: 
Representative Sam Farr of California, Representative Tony Hall of 
Ohio, Representative Thomas Petri of Wisconsin, Representative 
Christopher Shays of Connecticut, and Representative James Walsh of New 
York. Donna Shalala, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human 
Services also served in the Peace Corps.
  Let me tell you a little about the Peace Corps participation from my 
state of Texas. There are 197 Texans currently serving in the Peace 
Corps. Since 1961, Texas has supplied 2,784 volunteers. Of the colleges 
and universities that send Peace Corps volunteers this year, the 
University of Texas at Austin has 52 volunteers.
  An intern from Houston now serving in my office, LaQuinta Wadsworth, 
was a participant in the Peace Corps internship during the summer of 
1998. She traveled to Ghana as a part of a Peace Corps program through 
her school, Texas Southern University. Her internship was designed to 
increase awareness among the Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities (HBCUs).
  LaQuinta shared these thoughts, ``The Peace Corps motto is `The 
Toughest Job You Will Ever Love', and this statement is definitely 
true. The service opens the minds of the volunteers to new and amazing 
people and adventures. The Peace Corps is an asset to the communities 
of the countries in which volunteers serve.''
  Another citizen from my district, Roosevelt Harris worked as 
Associate Director of Field Operations for the Peace Corps in Liberia 
from 1972-1975. He had this to say about his experience, ``It has been 
one of the best experiences I've ever had in my life. It surpasses any 
foreign aid in terms of the direct impact it has on the local populace 
and the exchange between people contributes greatly to world peace. The 
Peace Corps enhances the image of America abroad. If I had the 
opportunity, I . . . [would] not hesitate to return to the Peace 
Corps.''
  These testimonials are just an example of the positive impact the 
Peace Corps has had on the lives of former volunteers. I urge my 
colleagues today to vote in support of this appropriation for this 
worthwhile organization.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, I rise to express my very strongest 
support for H.R. 669 to authorize $270 million in fiscal year 2000 for 
the Peace Corps. This bill will provide an increase of $29 million over 
current funding levels. Surely a very modest increase, Mr. Speaker, for 
a program that has such a positive impact around the world and such a 
proven track record of success.
  Over the last 38 years 6,921 Peace Corps Volunteers from 
Massachusetts have built a legacy of service and made contributions to 
the health, education, and development of countless people around the 
world. Currently, 232 Massachusetts citizens are serving in the Peace 
Corps.
  I can go into any school in my district and find young people who 
dream of working in the Peace Corps. These students already know that 
the Peace Corps embodies our most enduring values of service, 
compassion, and peace-making. They dream about going to some of the 
poorest communities on the face of this earth and helping people help 
themselves, while learning about other people and other cultures.
  But their dreams will only come true if we provide now the necessary 
funding to allow the Peace Corps to expand its volunteer program. Under 
the leadership of Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan--a Massachusetts 
native, I might add--more and more of our fellow citizens, of all ages 
and backgrounds, are applying to serve as volunteers. Under his 
leadership, the Peace Corps has also become a model government agency--
streamlining procedures, cutting costs and reducing the number of U.S.-
based staff, while at the same time increasing the support and training 
for new volunteers.
  I am especially grateful that the new program established in 1996, 
the Crisis Corps, will be sending more than 60 experienced former Peace 
Corps Volunteers to Central America to help those communities rebuild 
after the devastation of Hurricane Mitch.
  I urge my colleagues to support this authorization and to reject any 
amendments to freeze or cut funding for the Peace Corps.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 669, a bill 
that will allow more Americans to serve our country as Peace Corps 
Volunteers. Peace Corps volunteers play a vital role in the development 
of some of the worlds' poorest communities. Through the contributions 
of these volunteers, great strides have been made to improve education, 
economic development and healthcare. In recent years, our foreign 
neighbors have come to depend on Peace Corps volunteers for the grass 
root assistance, and the demand for volunteers increases every year. 
Furthermore, American interest in the Peace Corps has risen by 40%. 
Increased funding for this program over the next three years is 
essential to insure that more Americans can make a difference around 
the world. With great pride I recognize the individuals in the Peace 
Corps and this organization for its commitment to helping our 
international neighbors. Organizations such as the Peace Corps have not 
only established proud traditions of goodwill and service around the 
world, but also have contributed to improved relationships with people 
of other countries. Support for the Peace Corps requires little more 
than one percent of the resource allocated for foreign assistance. The 
benefit gained from this investment will be felt by both the foreign 
countries we help and the volunteers who return from their service with 
a better understanding of the world. Let us continue to support the 
Peace Corps Organization as a display of the strong American commitment 
to international development and partnerships.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Chairman, I have no further speakers, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The CHAIRMAN. All time for general debate has expired.
  Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read for amendment under 
the 5-minute rule.
  The text of H.R. 669 is as follows:

                                H.R. 669

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEARS 
                   2000 THROUGH 2003 TO CARRY OUT THE PEACE CORPS 
                   ACT.

       Section 3(b) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2502(b)) is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(b)(1) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
     out the purposes of this Act

[[Page 3452]]

     $270,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $298,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 2001, $327,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, and 
     $365,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.
       ``(2) Amounts authorized to be appropriated under paragraph 
     (1) for a fiscal year are authorized to remain available for 
     that fiscal year and the subsequent fiscal year.''.

     SEC. 2. MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS TO THE PEACE CORPS ACT.

       (a) International Travel.--Section 15(d) of such Act (22 
     U.S.C. 2514(d)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(13) the transportation of Peace Corps employees, Peace 
     Corps volunteers, dependents of such employees and 
     volunteers, and accompanying baggage, by a foreign air 
     carrier when the transportation is between two places outside 
     the United States without regard to section 40118 of title 
     49, United States Code.''.
       (b) Technical Amendments.--(1) Section 5(f)(1)(B) of such 
     Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(f)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ``Civil 
     Service Commission'' and inserting ``Office of Personnel 
     Management''.
       (2) Section 5(h) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(h)) is amended 
     by striking ``the Federal Voting Assistance Act of 1955 (5 
     U.S.C. 2171 et seq.)'' and all that follows through ``(31 
     U.S.C. 492a),'' and inserting ``section 3342 of title 31, 
     United States Code, section 5732 and''.
       (3) Section 5(j) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(j)) is amended 
     by striking ``section 1757 of the Revised Statutes of the 
     United States'' and all that follows and inserting ``section 
     3331 of title 5, United States Code.''.
       (4) Section 10(a)(4) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2509(a)(4)) is 
     amended by striking ``31 U.S.C. 665(b)'' and inserting 
     ``section 1342 of title 31, United States Code''.
       (5) Section 15(c) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2514(c)) is 
     amended by striking ``Public Law 84-918 (7 U.S.C. 1881 et 
     seq.)'' and inserting ``subchapter VI of chapter 33 of title 
     5, United States Code''.
       (6) Section 15(d)(2) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2514(d)(2)) is 
     amended by striking ``section 9 of Public Law 60-328 (31 
     U.S.C. 673)'' and inserting ``section 1346 of title 31, 
     United States Code''.
       (7) Section 15(d)(6) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2514(d)(6)) is 
     amended by striking ``without regard to section 3561 of the 
     Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 543)''.
       (8) Section 15(d)(11) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2514(d)(11)), 
     as amended by this section, is further amended by striking 
     ``Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended (22 U.S.C. 801 et 
     seq.)'' and inserting ``Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 
     U.S.C. 3901 et seq.)''.

  The CHAIRMAN. During consideration of the bill for amendment, the 
Chair may accord priority in recognition to a Member offering an 
amendment that he has printed in the designated place in the 
Congressional Record. Those amendments will be considered read.
  The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may postpone a request for 
a recorded vote on any amendment and may reduce to a minimum of 5 
minutes the time for voting on any postponed question that immediately 
follows another vote, provided that the time for voting on the first 
question shall be a minimum of 15 minutes.
  Are there any amendments to the bill?
  If not, under the rule, the Committee rises.
  Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. 
Walsh) having assumed the Chair, Mr. Pease, Chairman of the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, reported that that 
Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 669) to amend 
the Peace Corps Act to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2000 
through 2003 to carry out that Act, and for other purposes, pursuant to 
House Resolution 83, he reported the bill back to the House.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is 
ordered.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently, a quorum is not present.
  The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
  Pursuant to clause 8(c) of rule XX, this 15-minute vote will be 
followed by a 5-minute vote on H.R. 603.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 326, 
nays 90, not voting 17, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 31]

                               YEAS--326

     Abercrombie
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Andrews
     Bachus
     Baird
     Baker
     Baldacci
     Baldwin
     Barcia
     Barrett (WI)
     Barton
     Bass
     Bateman
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Bereuter
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Blagojevich
     Bliley
     Blumenauer
     Boehlert
     Bonior
     Bono
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (CA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canady
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Castle
     Chambliss
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Condit
     Conyers
     Cook
     Cooksey
     Costello
     Coyne
     Crowley
     Cummings
     Danner
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (VA)
     Deal
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DeMint
     Deutsch
     Diaz-Balart
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Dunn
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     Engel
     English
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Ewing
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Forbes
     Ford
     Fossella
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frost
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gejdenson
     Gekas
     Gephardt
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Goss
     Green (TX)
     Greenwood
     Gutierrez
     Hall (OH)
     Hansen
     Hastings (FL)
     Herger
     Hill (IN)
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hobson
     Hoeffel
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Holt
     Hooley
     Horn
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inslee
     Isakson
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kind (WI)
     King (NY)
     Kleczka
     Klink
     Knollenberg
     Kucinich
     Kuykendall
     LaFalce
     LaHood
     Lampson
     Lantos
     Larson
     LaTourette
     Lazio
     Leach
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (GA)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Lucas (KY)
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Markey
     Martinez
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCrery
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (FL)
     Miller, Gary
     Miller, George
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Moran (VA)
     Morella
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nethercutt
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Ose
     Owens
     Oxley
     Packard
     Pallone
     Pastor
     Payne
     Pease
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Phelps
     Pickett
     Pitts
     Pomeroy
     Porter
     Portman
     Price (NC)
     Pryce (OH)
     Quinn
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Regula
     Reyes
     Reynolds
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Rogan
     Rogers
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Rothman
     Roukema
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Sabo
     Salmon
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Schakowsky
     Scott
     Serrano
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherman
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shows
     Sisisky
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Souder
     Spratt
     Stabenow
     Stark
     Strickland
     Stupak
     Talent
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Thomas
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Thurman
     Tierney
     Towns
     Traficant
     Turner
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Upton
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Walsh
     Waters
     Watt (NC)
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Weldon (FL)
     Weller
     Wexler
     Weygand
     Whitfield
     Wise
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                                NAYS--90

     Archer
     Armey
     Ballenger
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Bartlett
     Bilbray
     Blunt
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Burton
     Cannon
     Chabot
     Chenoweth
     Coble
     Coburn
     Collins
     Combest
     Cox
     Cramer
     Crane
     Cubin
     Cunningham
     DeLay
     Doolittle
     Duncan
     Fowler
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Graham
     Green (WI)
     Gutknecht
     Hall (TX)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Hill (MT)
     Hilleary
     Hostettler
     Istook
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Kingston
     Kolbe
     Largent
     Latham
     Lewis (KY)
     Lucas (OK)
     Manzullo

[[Page 3453]]


     McIntosh
     Metcalf
     Mica
     Moran (KS)
     Paul
     Pickering
     Pombo
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Riley
     Rohrabacher
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Sanford
     Scarborough
     Schaffer
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (MI)
     Spence
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Stump
     Sununu
     Sweeney
     Tancredo
     Taylor (NC)
     Tiahrt
     Toomey
     Walden
     Wamp
     Watkins
     Watts (OK)
     Wicker
     Wilson

                             NOT VOTING--17

     Ackerman
     Boucher
     Callahan
     Capps
     Carson
     Delahunt
     Dickey
     Evans
     Everett
     Granger
     McCollum
     Meek (FL)
     Oberstar
     Pascrell
     Sanchez
     Terry
     Weldon (PA)

                              {time}  1241

  Messrs. LATHAM, SIMPSON, KINGSTON, TANCREDO, GRAHAM, SENSENBRENNER, 
HILL of Montana, HALL of Texas, BOEHNER, SCHAFFER, BILBRAY, WATKINS, 
MORAN of Kansas, HAYWORTH, SUNUNU, BARRETT of Nebraska, Mrs. FOWLER, 
and Mrs. CHENOWETH changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Mr. ADERHOLT changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated for:
  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 31 I was 
unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

                          ____________________