[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11032-11033]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            PEACE CORPS CHARTER OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

  (Mr. FARR of California asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I would first of all like to 
welcome to the United States Capitol all the returned Peace Corps 
volunteers who have served this country overseas. Now, over 165,000 
Americans have served in over 130 countries throughout the world, and 
they have come here to our Nation's capital to celebrate the 
anniversary of Peace Corps, which is 40 + 1 years old. We were going to 
have the 40th anniversary celebration last year, but 9-11 pushed it off 
to this year, so it is 40 plus one.
  I had the honor yesterday of introducing a bill about the Peace 
Corps, H.R. 4979. It authorizes appropriations for the Peace Corps to 
double the number of volunteers in five years; it restates the 
independence of the Peace Corps; it reports to Congress on new 
initiatives and security for Peace Corps volunteers; it makes a 
commitment to recruit and place Peace Corps volunteers in countries 
where they could help promote mutual understanding, particularly in 
areas with substantial Muslim populations; it develops training 
programs for Peace Corps volunteers in areas of education and 
prevention of AIDS; it streamlines and empowers the Peace Corps 
Advisory Council and creates a fund to promote the work of returned 
Peace Corps volunteers in fulfilling the goals of the Peace Corps and 
in facilitating the world-wide support of peace.
  I ask Members of Congress who are interested in this to cosponsor 
this great piece of legislation.

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