[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 16196-16198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               AUTHORIZING PEACE CORPS COMMEMORATIVE WORK

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 4195) to authorize the Peace Corps Commemorative 
Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of 
Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4195

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

     SECTION 1. MEMORIAL TO COMMEMORATE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 
                   PEACE CORPS AND TO HONOR THE IDEALS UPON WHICH 
                   IT WAS FOUNDED.

       (a) Authorization To Establish Commemorative Work.--The 
     Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation may establish a 
     commemorative work on Federal land in the District of 
     Columbia and its environs to commemorate the formation of the 
     Peace Corps and to honor the ideals upon which the Peace 
     Corps was founded.
       (b) Compliance With Standards for Commemorative Works 
     Act.--The establishment of the commemorative work shall be in 
     accordance with chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code 
     (commonly known as the ``Commemorative Works Act'').
       (c) Use of Federal Funds Prohibited.--Federal funds may not 
     be used to pay any expense of the establishment of the 
     commemorative work. The Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation 
     shall be solely responsible for acceptance of contributions 
     for, and payment of the expenses of, the establishment of the 
     commemorative work.
       (d) Deposit of Excess Funds.--If, upon payment of all 
     expenses for the establishment of the commemorative work 
     (including the maintenance and preservation amount required 
     by section 8906(b)(1) of title 40, United States Code), or 
     upon expiration of the authority for the commemorative work 
     under section 8903(e) of title 40, United States Code, there 
     remains a balance of funds received for the establishment of 
     the commemorative work, the Peace Corps Commemorative 
     Foundation shall transmit the amount of the balance to the 
     Secretary of the Interior for deposit in the account provided 
     for in section 8906(b)(3) of title 40, United States Code.

     SEC. 2. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
     statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) and the gentleman from Washington 
(Mr. Hastings) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 
legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4195 would authorize the Peace 
Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a commemorative work on 
Federal land in the District of Columbia. The Foundation was created to 
promote a memorial to ``honor the preeminent historical and lasting 
significance of the establishment of the Peace Corps . . . and the 
American ideals and values upon which it was founded.''
  H.R. 4195 was introduced by Congressman Farr, one of six Members of 
Congress who have served in the Peace Corps. I commend Representative 
Farr for his persistence in championing the Peace Corps and this 
legislation, and I urge Members to support H.R. 4195.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4195 has once again been adequately explained by 
the gentlelady from the Virgin Islands. However, I would like to 
emphasize--and I think this is important in the discussion we're having 
today--that this project would be planned, constructed, and maintained 
using non-Federal funds. We ought to look at that probably more often 
in programs we address here.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from California, 
Congressman Farr.
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of my colleagues in Congress 
who are return Peace Corps volunteers--Congressman Petri, Congressman 
Honda, Congressman Driehaus, and Congressman Garamendi.
  Fifty years ago this October in a predawn address, then-Presidential 
candidate, John F. Kennedy, challenged students at the University of 
Michigan to give 2 years of their lives to improve America's image by 
serving abroad.
  This impromptu exhortation ultimately set the stage for the Peace 
Corps, redefined U.S. global engagement, and elevated American moral 
standing at the height of the Cold War.
  The idea ignited the public imagination and the executive branch 
initiated the program rapidly. Losing no time, President Kennedy 
ordered Sargent Shriver to do a feasibility study. Sargent Shriver said 
at the time, ``We received more letters from people offering to work in 
or to volunteer for the Peace Corps, which did not then exist, than for 
all other existing Federal agencies.''
  I was one of those early recruits who found in the Peace Corps an 
avenue for national service. And just as 8,000 current volunteers are 
doing today around the world, I did many years ago in Medellin, 
Colombia, South America.
  As a member of the Peace Corps, you wake up in a distant country, 
without any modern amenities, and start working with your neighbors to 
prioritize community projects. You labor shoulder-to-shoulder to make 
those projects a reality. And in the process, you build hope and 
understanding and demonstrate American generosity.
  The understanding is a two-way street. When I was in Colombia, I 
learned as much as I taught. I took away as much as I gave.
  When I was in Colombia, my mother passed away from cancer. My father 
brought my two sisters to visit me to have a family reunion. My 
youngest sister, Nancy, 17-years-old, a junior in high school, was 
killed in an accident. She was thrown from a horse. Her death was 
avoidable. Better health care, a better hospital could have saved her.
  I was angry at Colombia, at sort of Third World poverty, at my 
community, and at myself for having brought my family to visit me.
  I stuck with it, though, and over time with reflection, I came to 
terms with my anger. It was not Colombia. It was not Colombian doctors 
who flew hundreds of miles in the middle of the night to try to save 
her. It was not my community in Colombia. When the landing strip was 
too dark for a plane to land, members of the community put out burning 
lanterns to guide the plane in. They consoled me. They took care of our 
family.
  It was poverty, the grinding poverty that still exists today, that 
exposes

[[Page 16197]]

women and men, young and old, to enormous vulnerabilities.
  I might add that those vulnerabilities aren't protected by an 
American passport or an American ability to find monetary solutions. If 
you're stuck in an underserved, poverty part of the world with a crisis 
in front of you, you have to deal with the tools at hand.
  I committed then at that moment, and throughout my life, to work to 
end the culture of poverty. My life was changed. It was the Peace Corps 
that changed me.
  My story is one of a quarter of a million volunteer stories and 
millions of more Peace Corps stories if you talk to the communities 
that receive the volunteers.
  Peace Corps was then, and continues to be today, a story of the 
goodness of the United States of America. Next year, Peace Corps will 
celebrate its 50th anniversary.

                              {time}  1510

  In anticipation of this momentous occasion, the 111th Congress is 
poised to take action on two very important measures to honor the Peace 
Corps. First, the House will vote today to celebrate a half century of 
the Peace Corps with a commemorative work in the District of Columbia. 
The commemorative work authorized by this bill is compliant with both 
the letter and the intent of the Commemorative Works Act. It costs zero 
taxpayer dollars, not a penny.
  This bill provides a space where the creation of the Peace Corps will 
find its place in American history. It will be a modest commemorative 
work, a place to contemplate the spirit of hope that gave rise to the 
idea of sending a cadre of Americans into the world to serve their 
country by serving the poorest and most vulnerable in the world. It 
commemorates the creation of a unique form of public service that seeks 
peace through international service, people-to-people diplomacy, and 
cross-cultural understanding.
  I appreciate the work of Chairman Rahall and Chairman Grijalva and 
their staffs; the minority staff and Mr. Doc Hastings, and I 
particularly would like to recognize the staffs of both of the majority 
and minority committee members who helped bring this bill to the floor.
  Later this year we'll have another opportunity to show our 
appreciation for the Peace Corps when we vote for the House funding for 
Peace Corps in the FY11 State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Act. 
The House has met the President's ask of $446 million, the subcommittee 
marked it at that, which can renew the promise of the Peace Corps in 
anticipation of its 50th anniversary.
  President Obama has directed the Peace Corps to aggressively reform 
programming and training and open up and expand missions around the 
world, specifically in North Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East. 
Just as President Kennedy did 50 years ago, President Obama inspired a 
Nation with his call to service. He has redefined the way the United 
States engages with the world, emphasizing direct communication and 
people-to-people diplomacy. Peace Corps represents those ideals at a 
time when diplomacy is a global imperative.
  Please join me in voting for H.R. 4195 to commemorate the 50th 
anniversary of the Peace Corps and allow a commemorative mark to be 
done at no cost to the taxpayers.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I support passage of H.R. 4195, a bill that 
would authorize the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a 
commemorative work to honor the formation of the Peace Corps and the 
ideals upon which it was founded.
  I served in the Peace Corps in Somalia in 1966-67, just 5 years after 
the program's founding, and saw first hand the contribution that Peace 
Corps volunteers make to the communities they serve. Fifty years later, 
the continued selfless and noble service outside our borders remains a 
testament to the timeless American ideals embodied by the Peace Corps 
volunteers I served with and those that are serving today. Indeed, the 
creation of the Peace Corps by Congress and President John F. Kennedy 
in 1961 marked a fundamental turning point in American foreign policy. 
The values and ideals of America were put into action to help meet the 
needs of people in developing countries through volunteer service 
abroad.
  The memorials and commemoratives of Washington, DC, tell the story of 
the people and events that have shaped our nation's history and our 
fundamental ideals. The founding of the Peace Corps was an expression 
of those ideals and will continue to inspire new generations of 
Americans to embrace the belief that we can and should reach out to 
uplift those around us. As such, I believe the Peace Corps's founding, 
and the American ideals it represents, deserve an essential and 
meaningful part of the national capital landscape to commemorate the 
preeminent, lasting significance of a watershed moment in the nation's 
history, the founding of the Peace Corps 50 years ago. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 4195.
  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, as a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, I rise 
in support of H.R. 4195, Authorization of the Peace Corps Commemorative 
Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of 
Columbia and its environs.
  I commend Representative Sam Farr and members of the Committee on 
Natural Resources for the hard work and thoughtful consideration that 
went into this bill. I am pleased this bill will authorize the Peace 
Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a memorial that honors the 
Peace Corps and the instrumental role it plays in establishing 
prosperous foreign relation and cross-cultural understandings. Through 
the selfless service of men and women of this nation as Peace Corps 
Volunteers, the Corps' mission of world peace and friendship is 
realized around the world.
  Since President John F. Kennedy's call to service, almost 50 years 
ago, nearly 200,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in 139 host 
countries to train local people in technologies and issues including 
agriculture production, water quality improvement, basic education, 
AIDS education, information technology, and environmental preservation. 
With the recent devastations in Haiti and Chile, we are continuously 
reminded of the significance of community service and inspired by the 
valuable assistance the Peace Corps provide.
  My personal experience as a former Peace Corps Volunteer in El 
Salvador building schools and health clinics continues to inspire me to 
actively advocate for the expansion of this worthy and necessary 
organization. The experience meant much to me and marked the beginning 
of my lifelong commitment to public service. Most importantly, I 
returned to the United States with a deeper understanding of humanity 
and a personal commitment to speak on behalf of the marginalized and 
powerless.
  To that end, alongside of my colleagues, I requested $465 million for 
FY 2011 Peace Corps fund, allowing the Peace Corps to modernize its 
systems, optimize the number of Volunteers and staff in existing 
countries, strengthen recruiting and diversity efforts, continue to 
expand to new nations, and maximize safety and security training and 
compliance efforts. Although a lot has been achieved since the Peace 
Corps' inception, it is currently at half the size it was in 1966. I am 
greatly encouraged by President Obama's commitment to expand public 
service by building upon the Peace Corps and creating innovative 
programs that inspire Americans, from all walks of life, to bear the 
torch of peace and goodwill.
  Again, I congratulate the Committee on Natural Resources and 
Representative Sam Farr for their work on this bill and I urge my 
colleagues to support this important legislation to authorize the Peace 
Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the 
District of Columbia and its environs. In this time of world conflict 
and economic disparities I find hope in the work of the Peace Corps. 
Their mission is more vital than ever and my resolve to reinvigorate 
our Nation's greatest and most cost-efficient diplomatic tool is 
strengthened. Let us all pay tribute to the hard work, perseverance, 
determination, compassion, and idealism of the Peace Corps and past and 
current Peace Corps Volunteers around the world.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4195, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.

[[Page 16198]]

  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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