[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 16316-16325]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        KATE PUZEY PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER PROTECTION ACT OF 2011

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (S. 1280) to amend the Peace Corps Act to require sexual 
assault risk-reduction and response training, the development of a 
sexual assault policy, the establishment of an Office of Victim 
Advocacy, the establishment of a Sexual Assault Advisory Council, and 
for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1280

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Kate Puzey Peace Corps 
     Volunteer Protection Act of 2011''.

     SEC. 2. PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER PROTECTION.

       The Peace Corps Act is amended by inserting after section 8 
     (22 U.S.C. 2507) the following new sections:


         ``sexual assault risk-reduction and response training

       ``Sec. 8A.  (a) In General.--As part of the training 
     provided to all volunteers under section 8(a), the President 
     shall develop and implement comprehensive sexual assault 
     risk-reduction and response training that, to the extent 
     practicable, conforms to best practices in the sexual assault 
     field.
       ``(b) Development and Consultation With Experts.--In 
     developing the sexual assault risk-reduction and response 
     training under subsection (a), the President shall consult 
     with and incorporate, as appropriate, the recommendations and 
     views of experts in the sexual assault field.
       ``(c) Subsequent Training.--Once a volunteer has arrived in 
     his or her country of service, the President shall provide 
     the volunteer with training tailored to the country of 
     service that includes cultural training relating to gender 
     relations, risk-reduction strategies, treatment available in 
     such country (including sexual assault forensic exams, post-
     exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV exposure, screening for 
     sexually transmitted diseases, and pregnancy testing), 
     MedEvac procedures, and information regarding a victim's 
     right to pursue legal action against a perpetrator.
       ``(d) Information Regarding Crimes and Risks.--Each 
     applicant for enrollment as a volunteer shall be provided 
     with information regarding crimes against and risks to 
     volunteers in the country in which the applicant has been 
     invited to serve, including an overview of past crimes 
     against volunteers in the country.
       ``(e) Contact Information.--The President shall provide 
     each applicant, before the applicant enrolls as a volunteer, 
     with--
       ``(1) the contact information of the Inspector General of 
     the Peace Corps for purposes of reporting sexual assault 
     mismanagement or any other mismanagement, misconduct, 
     wrongdoing, or violations of law or policy whenever it 
     involves a Peace Corps employee, volunteer, contractor, or 
     outside party that receives funds from the Peace Corps;
       ``(2) clear, written guidelines regarding whom to contact, 
     including the direct telephone number for the designated 
     Sexual Assault Response Liaison (SARL) and the Office of 
     Victim Advocacy and what steps to take in the event of a 
     sexual assault or other crime; and
       ``(3) contact information for a 24-hour sexual assault 
     hotline to be established for the purpose of providing 
     volunteers a mechanism to anonymously--
       ``(A) report sexual assault;
       ``(B) receive crisis counseling in the event of a sexual 
     assault; and
       ``(C) seek information about Peace Corps sexual assault 
     reporting and response procedures.
       ``(f) Definitions.--In this section and sections 8B through 
     8G:
       ``(1) Personally identifying information.--The term 
     `personally identifying information' means individually 
     identifying information for or about a volunteer who is a 
     victim of sexual assault, including information likely to 
     disclose the location of such victim, including the 
     following:
       ``(A) A first and last name.
       ``(B) A home or other physical address.
       ``(C) Contact information (including a postal, email, or 
     Internet protocol address, or telephone or facsimile number).
       ``(D) A social security number.
       ``(E) Any other information, including date of birth, 
     racial or ethnic background, or religious affiliation, that, 
     in combination with information described in subparagraphs 
     (A) through (D), would serve to identify the victim.
       ``(2) Restricted reporting.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `restricted reporting' means a 
     system of reporting that allows a volunteer who is sexually 
     assaulted to confidentially disclose the details of his or 
     her assault to specified individuals and receive the services 
     outlined in section 8B(c) without the dissemination of his or 
     her personally identifying information except as necessary 
     for the provision of such services, and without automatically 
     triggering an official investigative process.
       ``(B) Exceptions.--In cases in which volunteers elect 
     restricted reporting, disclosure of their personally 
     identifying information is authorized to the following 
     persons or organizations when disclosure would be for the 
     following reasons:
       ``(i) Peace Corps staff or law enforcement when authorized 
     by the victim in writing.
       ``(ii) Peace Corps staff or law enforcement to prevent or 
     lessen a serious or imminent threat to the health or safety 
     of the victim or another person.
       ``(iii) SARLs, victim advocates or healthcare providers 
     when required for the provision of victim services.
       ``(iv) State and Federal courts when ordered, or if 
     disclosure is required by Federal or State statute.
       ``(C) Notice of disclosure and privacy protection.--In 
     cases in which information is disclosed pursuant to 
     subparagraph (B), the President shall--
       ``(i) make reasonable attempts to provide notice to the 
     volunteer with respect to whom such information is being 
     released; and
       ``(ii) take such action as is necessary to protect the 
     privacy and safety of the volunteer.
       ``(3) Sexual assault.--The term `sexual assault' means any 
     conduct prescribed by chapter 109A of title 18, United States 
     Code,

[[Page 16317]]

     whether or not the conduct occurs in the special maritime and 
     territorial jurisdiction of the United States, and includes 
     both assaults committed by offenders who are strangers to the 
     victim and assaults committed by offenders who are known or 
     related by blood or marriage to the victim.
       ``(4) Stalking.--The term `stalking' means engaging in a 
     course of conduct directed at a specific person that would 
     cause a reasonable person to--
       ``(A) fear for his or her safety or the safety of others; 
     or
       ``(B) suffer substantial emotional distress.


                        ``sexual assault policy

       ``Sec. 8B.  (a) In General.--The President shall develop 
     and implement a comprehensive sexual assault policy that--
       ``(1) includes a system for restricted and unrestricted 
     reporting of sexual assault;
       ``(2) mandates, for each Peace Corps country program, the 
     designation of a Sexual Assault Response Liaison (SARL), who 
     shall receive comprehensive training on procedures to respond 
     to reports of sexual assault, with duties including ensuring 
     that volunteers who are victims of sexual assault are moved 
     to a safe environment and accompanying victims through the 
     in-country response at the request of the victim;
       ``(3) requires SARLs to immediately contact a Victim 
     Advocate upon receiving a report of sexual assault in 
     accordance with the restricted and unrestricted reporting 
     guidelines promulgated by the Peace Corps;
       ``(4) to the extent practicable, conforms to best practices 
     in the sexual assault field;
       ``(5) is applicable to all posts at which volunteers serve; 
     and
       ``(6) includes a guarantee that volunteers will not suffer 
     loss of living allowances for reporting a sexual assault.
       ``(b) Development and Consultation With Experts.--In 
     developing the sexual assault policy under subsection (a), 
     the President shall consult with and incorporate, as 
     appropriate, the recommendations and views of experts in the 
     sexual assault field, including experts with international 
     experience.
       ``(c) Elements.--The sexual assault policy developed under 
     subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, the following 
     services with respect to a volunteer who has been a victim of 
     sexual assault:
       ``(1) The option of pursuing either restricted or 
     unrestricted reporting of an assault.
       ``(2) Provision of a SARL and Victim's Advocate to the 
     volunteer.
       ``(3) At a volunteer's discretion, provision of a sexual 
     assault forensic exam in accordance with applicable host 
     country law.
       ``(4) If necessary, the provision of emergency health care, 
     including a mechanism for such volunteer to evaluate such 
     provider.
       ``(5) If necessary, the provision of counseling and 
     psychiatric medication.
       ``(6) Completion of a safety and treatment plan with the 
     volunteer, if necessary.
       ``(7) Evacuation of such volunteer for medical treatment, 
     accompanied by a Peace Corps staffer at the request of such 
     volunteer. When evacuated to the United States, such 
     volunteer shall be provided, to the extent practicable, a 
     choice of medical providers including a mechanism for such 
     volunteers to evaluate the provider.
       ``(8) An explanation to the volunteer of available law 
     enforcement and prosecutorial options, and legal 
     representation.
       ``(d) Training.--The President shall train all staff 
     outside the United States regarding the sexual assault policy 
     developed under subsection (a).


                      ``office of victim advocacy

       ``Sec. 8C.  (a) Establishment of Office of Victims 
     Advocacy.--
       ``(1) In general.--The President shall establish an Office 
     of Victim Advocacy in Peace Corps headquarters headed by a 
     full-time victim advocate who shall report directly to the 
     Director. The Office of Victim Advocacy may deploy personnel 
     abroad when necessary to help assist victims.
       ``(2) Prohibition.--Peace Corps Medical Officers, Safety 
     and Security Officers, and program staff may not serve as 
     victim advocates. The victim advocate referred to in 
     paragraph (1) may not have any other duties in the Peace 
     Corps that are not reasonably connected to victim advocacy.
       ``(3) Exemption.--The victim advocate and any additional 
     victim advocates shall be exempt from the limitations 
     specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) and 
     paragraph (5) under section 7(a) of the Peace Corps Act (22 
     U.S.C. 2506(a)).
       ``(b) Responsibilities.--
       ``(1) Victims of sexual assault.--The Office of Victim 
     Advocacy shall help develop and update the sexual assault 
     risk-reduction and response training described in section 8A 
     and the sexual assault policy described in section 8B, ensure 
     that volunteers who are victims of sexual assault receive 
     services specified in section 8B(c), and facilitate their 
     access to such services.
       ``(2) Other crimes.--In addition to assisting victims of 
     sexual assault in accordance with paragraph (1), the Office 
     of Victim Advocacy shall assist volunteers who are victims of 
     crime by making such victims aware of the services available 
     to them and facilitating their access to such services.
       ``(3) Priority.--The Office of Victim Advocacy shall give 
     priority to cases involving serious crimes, including sexual 
     assault and stalking.
       ``(c) Status Updates.--The Office of Victim Advocacy shall 
     provide to volunteers who are victims regular updates on the 
     status of their cases if such volunteers have opted to pursue 
     prosecution.
       ``(d) Transition.--The Office of Victim Advocacy shall 
     assist volunteers who are victims of crime and whose service 
     has terminated in receiving the services specified in section 
     8B(c) requested by such volunteer.


           ``establishment of sexual assault advisory council

       ``Sec. 8D.  (a) Establishment.--There is established a 
     Sexual Assault Advisory Council (in this section referred to 
     as the `Council').
       ``(b) Membership.--The Council shall be composed of not 
     less than 8 individuals selected by the President, not later 
     than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
     section, who are returned volunteers (including volunteers 
     who were victims of sexual assault and volunteers who were 
     not victims of sexual assault) and governmental and 
     nongovernmental experts and professionals in the sexual 
     assault field. No Peace Corps employee shall be a member of 
     the Council. The number of governmental experts appointed to 
     the Council shall not exceed the number of nongovernmental 
     experts.
       ``(c) Functions; Meetings.--The Council shall meet not less 
     often than annually to review the sexual assault risk-
     reduction and response training developed under section 8A, 
     the sexual assault policy developed under section 8B, and 
     such other matters related to sexual assault the Council 
     views as appropriate, to ensure that such training and policy 
     conform to the extent practicable to best practices in the 
     sexual assault field.
       ``(d) Reports.--On an annual basis for 5 years after the 
     date of the enactment of this section and at the discretion 
     of the Council thereafter, the Council shall submit to the 
     President and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee 
     on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     House of Representatives a report on its findings based on 
     the reviews conducted pursuant to subsection (c).
       ``(e) Employee Status.--Members of the Council shall not be 
     considered employees of the United States Government for any 
     purpose and shall not receive compensation other than 
     reimbursement of travel expenses and per diem allowance in 
     accordance with section 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
       ``(f) Nonapplicability of FACA.--The Federal Advisory 
     Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Council.


              ``volunteer feedback and peace corps review

       ``Sec. 8E.  (a) Monitoring and Evaluation.--Not later than 
     1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the 
     President shall establish goals, metrics, and monitoring and 
     evaluation plans for all Peace Corps programs. Monitoring and 
     evaluation plans shall incorporate best practices from 
     monitoring and evaluation studies and analyses.
       ``(b) Performance Plans and Elements.--The President shall 
     establish performance plans with performance elements and 
     standards for Peace Corps representatives and shall review 
     the performance of Peace Corps representatives not less than 
     annually to determine whether they have met these performance 
     elements and standards. Nothing in this subsection shall be 
     construed as limiting the discretion of the President to 
     remove a Peace Corps representative.
       ``(c) Annual Volunteer Surveys.--The President shall 
     annually conduct a confidential survey of volunteers 
     regarding the effectiveness of Peace Corps programs and staff 
     and the safety of volunteers. The results shall be provided 
     in aggregate form without identifying information to the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 
     Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives. Results from the annual volunteer survey 
     shall be considered in reviewing the performance of Peace 
     Corps representatives under subsection (a).
       ``(d) Peace Corps Inspector General.--The Inspector General 
     of the Peace Corps shall--
       ``(1) submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee 
     on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     House of Representatives--
       ``(A) a biennial report on reports received from volunteers 
     relating to misconduct, mismanagement, or policy violations 
     of Peace Corps staff, any breaches of the confidentiality of 
     volunteers, and any actions taken to assure the safety of 
     volunteers who provide such reports;
       ``(B) a report, not later than two years after the date of 
     the enactment of this section and every three years 
     thereafter, evaluating the effectiveness and implementation 
     of the sexual assault risk-reduction and response training 
     developed under section 8A and the sexual assault policy 
     developed under section 8B, including a case review of a 
     statistically significant number of cases; and

[[Page 16318]]

       ``(C) a report, not later than two years after the date of 
     the enactment of this section, describing how Peace Corps 
     representatives are hired, how Peace Corps representatives 
     are terminated, and how Peace Corps representatives hire 
     staff, including an assessment of the implementation of the 
     performance plans described in subsection (b); and
       ``(2) when conducting audits or evaluations of Peace Corps 
     programs overseas, notify the Director of the Peace Corps 
     about the results of such evaluations, including concerns the 
     Inspector General has noted, if any, about the performance of 
     Peace Corps representatives, for appropriate action.


                ``establishment of a policy on stalking

       ``Sec. 8F.  (a) In General.--The President shall develop 
     and implement a comprehensive policy on stalking that--
       ``(1) requires an immediate, effective, and thorough 
     response from the Peace Corps upon receipt of a report of 
     stalking;
       ``(2) provides, during training, all Peace Corps volunteers 
     with a point of contact for the reporting of stalking; and
       ``(3) protects the confidentiality of volunteers who report 
     stalking to the maximum extent practicable.
       ``(b) Development and Consultation With Experts.--In 
     developing the stalking policy under subsection (a), the 
     President shall consult with and incorporate, as appropriate, 
     the recommendations and views of those with expertise 
     regarding the crime of stalking.
       ``(c) Training of In-country Staff.--The President shall 
     provide for the training of all in-country staff regarding 
     the stalking policy developed under subsection (a).


         ``establishment of a confidentiality protection policy

       ``Sec. 8G.  (a) In General.--The President shall establish 
     and maintain a process to allow volunteers to report 
     incidents of misconduct or mismanagement, or violations of 
     any policy, of the Peace Corps in order to protect the 
     confidentiality and safety of such volunteers and of the 
     information reported, and to ensure that such information is 
     acted on appropriately. This process shall conform to 
     existing best practices regarding confidentiality.
       ``(b) Guidance.--The President shall provide additional 
     training to officers and employees of the Peace Corps who 
     have access to information reported by volunteers under 
     subsection (a) in order to protect against the inappropriate 
     disclosures of such information and ensure the safety of such 
     volunteers.
       ``(c) Penalty.--Any Peace Corps volunteer or staff member 
     who is responsible for maintaining confidentiality under 
     subsection (a) and who breaches such duty shall be subject to 
     disciplinary action, including termination, and in the case 
     of a staff member, ineligibility for re-employment with the 
     Peace Corps.


                ``removal and assessment and evaluation

       ``Sec. 8H.  (a) In General.--If a volunteer requests 
     removal from the site in which such volunteer is serving 
     because the volunteer feels at risk of imminent bodily harm, 
     the President shall, as expeditiously as practical after 
     receiving such request, remove the volunteer from the site. 
     If the President receives such a request, the President shall 
     assess and evaluate the safety of such site and may not 
     assign another volunteer to the site until such time as the 
     assessment and evaluation is complete and the site has been 
     determined to be safe. Volunteers may remain at a site during 
     the assessment and evaluation.
       ``(b) Determination of Site as Unsafe.--If the President 
     determines that a site is unsafe for any remaining volunteers 
     at the site, the President shall, as expeditiously as 
     practical, remove all volunteers from the site.
       ``(c) Tracking and Recording.--The President shall 
     establish a global tracking and recording system to track and 
     record incidents of crimes against volunteers.


                        ``reporting requirements

       ``Sec. 8I.  (a) In General.--The President shall annually 
     submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee 
     on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     House of Representatives a report summarizing information 
     on--
       ``(1) sexual assault of volunteers;
       ``(2) other crimes against volunteers;
       ``(3) the number of arrests, prosecutions, and 
     incarcerations for crimes involving Peace Corps volunteers 
     for every country in which volunteers serve; and
       ``(4) the annual rate of early termination of volunteers, 
     including demographic data associated with such early 
     termination.
       ``(b) GAO.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
     enactment of this section, the Comptroller General of the 
     United States shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate 
     and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives a report 
     evaluating the quality and accessibility of health care 
     provided through the Department of Labor to returned 
     volunteers upon their separation from the Peace Corps.
       ``(c) Access to Communications.--
       ``(1) In general.--The President shall determine the level 
     of access to communication, including cellular and Internet 
     access, of each volunteer.
       ``(2) Report.--Not later than six months after the date of 
     the enactment of this section, the President shall submit to 
     the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 
     Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives a report on the costs, feasibility, and 
     benefits of providing all volunteers with access to adequate 
     communication, including cellular service and Internet 
     access.''.

     SEC. 3. RETENTION OF COUNSEL FOR CRIME VICTIMS.

       Section 5(l) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(l)) is 
     amended by inserting before the period at the end the 
     following: ``and counsel may be employed and counsel fees, 
     court costs and other expenses may be paid in the support of 
     volunteers who are parties, complaining witnesses, or 
     otherwise participating in the prosecution of crimes 
     committed against such volunteers''.

     SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON STAFFING OF OFFICE OF VICTIM 
                   ADVOCACY.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the Office of Victim Advocacy established under section 
     8C of the Peace Corps Act, as added by section 2, should 
     provide an adequate number of victim advocates so that each 
     victim of crime receives critical information and support;
       (2) any full-time victim advocates and any additional 
     victim advocates should be credentialed by a national victims 
     assistance body; and
       (3) the training required under section 8A(a) of the Peace 
     Corps Act, as added by section 2, should be credentialed by a 
     national victims assistance body.

     SEC. 5. PERSONAL SERVICE CONTRACTS.

       The Peace Corps Act is amended--
       (1) in section 7(a)(3) (22 U.S.C. 2506(a)(3)), by inserting 
     ``, or contracted with for personal services under section 
     10(a)(5),'' after ``employed, appointed, or assigned under 
     this subsection''; and
       (2) in section 10(a)(5) (22 U.S.C. 2509(a)(5)), by striking 
     ``any purpose'' and inserting ``the purposes of any law 
     administered by the Office of Personnel Management (except 
     that the President may determine the applicability to such 
     individuals of provisions of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 
     (22 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.))''.

     SEC. 6. INDEPENDENCE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE PEACE 
                   CORPS.

       Section 7(a) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2506(a)) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(7) The limitations specified in subparagraphs (A) and 
     (B) of paragraph (2) and in paragraph (5) shall not apply 
     to--
       ``(A) the Inspector General of the Peace Corps; and
       ``(B) officers and employees of the Office of the Inspector 
     General of the Peace Corps.''.

     SEC. 7. CONFORMING SAFETY AND SECURITY AGREEMENT REGARDING 
                   PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS SERVING IN FOREIGN 
                   COUNTRIES.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Peace Corps 
     shall consult with the Assistant Secretary of State for 
     Diplomatic Security and enter into a memorandum of 
     understanding that specifies the duties and obligations of 
     the Peace Corps and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security of the 
     Department of State with respect to the protection of Peace 
     Corps volunteers and staff members serving in foreign 
     countries, including with respect to investigations of safety 
     and security incidents and crimes committed against 
     volunteers and staff members.
       (b) Inspector General Review.--
       (1) Review.--The Inspector General of the Peace Corps shall 
     review the memorandum of understanding described in 
     subsection (a) and be afforded the opportunity to recommend 
     changes that advance the safety and security of Peace Corps 
     volunteers before entry into force of the memorandum of 
     understanding.
       (2) Report.--The Director of the Peace Corps shall consider 
     the recommendations of the Inspector General of the Peace 
     Corps regarding the memorandum of understanding described in 
     subsection (a). If the Director enters into the memorandum of 
     understanding without implementing a recommendation of the 
     Inspector General, the Director shall submit to the Inspector 
     General a written explanation relating thereto.
       (c) Failure to Meet Deadline.--
       (1) Requirement to submit report.--If, by the date that is 
     180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
     Director of the Peace Corps is unable to obtain agreement 
     with the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security 
     and certification by the Inspector General of the Peace 
     Corps, the Director shall submit to the committees of 
     Congress specified in paragraph (2) a report explaining the 
     reasons for such failure and a certification that substantial 
     steps are being taken to make progress toward agreement.
       (2) Committees of congress specified.--The committees of 
     Congress specified in this paragraph are the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on

[[Page 16319]]

     Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.

     SEC. 8. PORTFOLIO REVIEWS.

       (a) In General.--The Director of the Peace Corps shall, at 
     least once every 3 years, perform a review to evaluate the 
     allocation and delivery of resources across the countries the 
     Peace Corps serves or is considering for service. Such 
     portfolio reviews shall at a minimum include the following 
     with respect to each such country:
       (1) An evaluation of the country's commitment to the Peace 
     Corps program.
       (2) An analysis of the safety and security of volunteers.
       (3) An evaluation of the country's need for assistance.
       (4) An analysis of country program costs.
       (5) An evaluation of the effectiveness of management of 
     each post within a country.
       (6) An evaluation of the country's congruence with the 
     Peace Corp's mission and strategic priorities.
       (b) Briefing.--Upon request of the Chairman and Ranking 
     Member of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate or 
     the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives, the Director of the Peace Corps shall brief 
     such committees on each portfolio review required under 
     subsection (a). If requested, each such briefing shall 
     discuss performance measures and sources of data used (such 
     as project status reports, volunteer surveys, impact studies, 
     reports of Inspector General of the Peace Corps, and any 
     relevant external sources) in making the findings and 
     conclusions in such review.

     SEC. 9. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Inclusion of Sexual Assault Risk-reduction and Response 
     Training.--The Peace Corps Act is amended--
       (1) in section 5(a) (22 U.S.C. 2504(a)), in the second 
     sentence, by inserting ``(including training under section 
     8A)'' after ``training''; and
       (2) in section 8(a) (22 U.S.C. 2507(a)), in the first 
     sentence, by inserting ``, including training under section 
     8A,'' after ``training''.
       (b) Certain Services.--Section 5(e) of the Peace Corps Act 
     (22 U.S.C. 2504(e)) is amended, in the first sentence--
       (1) by inserting ``(including, if necessary, for volunteers 
     and trainees, services under section 8B)'' after ``health 
     care''; and
       (2) by inserting ``including services provided in 
     accordance with section 8B (except that the six-month 
     limitation shall not apply in the case of such services),'' 
     before ``as the President''.

     SEC. 10. OFFSET OF COSTS AND PERSONNEL.

       Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Direct of 
     the Peace Corps shall--
       (1) eliminate such initiatives, positions, and programs 
     within the Peace Corps (other than within the Office of 
     Inspector General) as the Director deems necessary to ensure 
     any and all costs incurred to carry out the provisions of 
     this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, are entirely 
     offset;
       (2) ensure no net increase in personnel are added to carry 
     out the provisions of this Act, with any new full or part 
     time employees or equivalents offset by eliminating an 
     equivalent number of existing staff (other than within the 
     Office of Inspector General);
       (3) report to Congress not later than 60 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act the actions taken to ensure 
     compliance with paragraphs (1) and (2), including the 
     specific initiatives, positions, and programs within the 
     Peace Corps that have been eliminated to ensure that the 
     costs of carrying out this Act will be offset; and
       (4) not implement any other provision of this Act (other 
     than paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)) or any amendment made by 
     this Act until the Director has certified that the actions 
     specified in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) have been 
     completed.

     SEC. 11. SUNSET.

       This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall cease to 
     be effective 7 years after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Berman) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, 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 this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in strong support of Senate bill 1280, the Kate Puzey Peace 
Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011.
  This bill represents the culmination of bipartisan and bicameral 
efforts to remedy long-standing problems in the Peace Corps regarding 
the way that rapes, sexual assault, and other violent crimes committed 
against Peace Corps volunteers serving overseas are handled.
  Senate bill 1280 incorporates structural reforms in the Peace Corps 
that I had proposed in my bill, H.R. 2699. These are based on 
recommendations made by the Peace Corps Inspector General. It also 
incorporates the essential provisions of Representative Poe's bill, 
H.R. 2337, to bring best practices to the Peace Corps' response to 
victims of sexual assault. Both of these bills, Mr. Speaker, were 
adopted by our House Foreign Affairs Committee by unanimous consent.
  Senate bill 1280 is named in honor of a brave Peace Corps volunteer 
from the State of Georgia who lost her life while serving in Africa. 
Kate Puzey was brutally murdered in Benin when she tried to end the 
continuing rape of her students by reporting the assailant.
  Earlier this year, in an oversight hearing held by our Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, we heard from Kate's mom, Lois Puzey, who testified 
that the Peace Corps failed to protect the confidentiality of Kate's 
report, and this ultimately led to the murder of her daughter. We also 
heard testimony from three former Peace Corps volunteers who were raped 
overseas. They all relayed accounts about the deplorable treatment they 
received by the Peace Corps after they reported their rapes.
  Without the chilling testimony of these brave individuals who came 
forward, I do not believe that successful reform legislation like this 
would have been possible. They deserve the utmost respect, and they are 
to be commended for their bravery. Many of them are in the visitors' 
gallery today. Jess, Carol, Karestan, and Kate are the voices of the 
Peace Corps' own volunteers from across the decades, voices that can no 
longer be ignored.
  During the course of our investigation, the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee received dozens of affidavits from other victims in the Peace 
Corps, echoing their plea for change. The accounts of these victims 
unveiled an institution that had too often blamed the victim and 
treated reports of rape as a threat to its reputation. Despite their 
harrowing experiences, most volunteers who have been victims of sexual 
assault continue to support the Peace Corps and remain committed to its 
noble mission--to promote world peace and friendship between peoples 
from different cultures.
  Director Aaron Williams has begun to make important changes to better 
protect and serve volunteers in the Peace Corps. However, deeper 
reforms are needed; and the legislation before us today, which was 
adopted by our Foreign Affairs Committee, requires the Peace Corps to 
make these changes.
  Senate bill 1280 combines two of our House bills, and it requires the 
Peace Corps to establish a confidentiality policy for reporting sexual 
assault. The bill sets up an Office of Victims Advocacy to oversee the 
response to sexual assault and other violent crimes. It also 
establishes a Sexual Assault Advisory Council to provide guidance to 
the Peace Corps volunteers and to ensure that it continues to follow 
the best practices as they evolve in the field.
  Under this bill, the Peace Corps must keep crime statistics and track 
them in annual safety and security reports. It directs the Peace Corps 
to perform portfolio reviews to evaluate the countries where volunteers 
serve, including an evaluation of their safety and their security. This 
bill enhances the independence of the Peace Corps Inspector General by 
exempting that office from the 5-year limitation of Peace Corps tenure. 
It instructs that a Memorandum of Understanding be entered into between 
the Department of State and the Peace Corps, delineating responsibility 
for crime victim support.
  I urge all Members to support this important legislation in honor of 
Kate Puzey and to vote in favor of Senate bill 1280. Help reform the 
Peace Corps to make it the polished gem of U.S. diplomacy that it was 
always meant to be.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

[[Page 16320]]

  I rise in strong support of S. 1280, the Kate Puzey Peace Corps 
Volunteer Protection Act of 2011. Today marks an important step towards 
improving the safety and security of volunteers who serve in the Peace 
Corps.
  The Foreign Affairs Committee took up the issue of volunteer safety 
earlier this year after the broadcast of an extremely disturbing report 
on the ABC News program ``20/20.'' The segment detailed the experiences 
of a number of young volunteers who were sexually assaulted while 
serving overseas but who did not receive the care and support they 
needed from the Peace Corps. The show also examined the circumstances 
surrounding the tragic death of Kate Puzey, a volunteer in the west 
African country of Benin who was murdered after reporting that a fellow 
teacher was sexually abusing some of his students.
  In May we held a very useful hearing on these issues, with witnesses 
that included returned volunteers who were survivors of sexual assault, 
the Inspector General of the Peace Corps, and the Peace Corps Director. 
Based on the testimony we received at the hearing and in consultations 
with other interested parties, we drafted a bipartisan bill to improve 
the Peace Corps, and that legislation is reflected in the Senate bill 
we are taking up today.
  Some of the key provisions include requiring the agency to have 
comprehensive policies and training for volunteers and staff on risk 
reduction and response; the establishment of a victim support office to 
focus exclusively on supporting victims of sexual assault and other 
crimes; and completing a Memorandum of Understanding between the Peace 
Corps and the State Department, clarifying security-related 
responsibilities.
  I think it's important to point out that Peace Corps Director Aaron 
Williams has already taken a number of important steps to improve the 
support for victims of sexual assault and other crimes. For example, 
the Peace Corps has hired a victim's advocate, established a 
confidentiality policy, and started the process of rewriting and 
updating their sexual assault risk reduction and response policies and 
training.

                              {time}  1750

  This bill codifies some of the important measures that Director 
Williams has put in place to ensure that they're retained by future 
Directors.
  On its 50th anniversary, the Peace Corps continues to perform a vital 
role in promoting community-based development in some of the world's 
poorest countries, sharing American values and enriching our own Nation 
by bringing knowledge of other countries and cultures back to the 
United States.
  No agency with such a modest budget has done more than the Peace 
Corps to extend America's presence in nearly every part of the world, 
and none has enjoyed such strong bipartisan support. This 
comprehensive, balanced, and bipartisan bill will strengthen the Peace 
Corps and help ensure that the agency can continue to do its important 
work well into the future.
  I want to thank Chairman Ros-Lehtinen and Senators Boxer and Isakson 
and their staffs and all our staffs for working so well together on 
these important issues. And I particularly want to single out 
Congressman Poe, because without his initial thrust, I don't think we 
would be at this point today. I think he deserves the appreciation of 
the entire body and of the people who are most impacted by this 
legislation for his efforts and for his willingness to work with us in 
such a cooperative fashion.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I am honored to yield such time as he may consume 
to the gentleman from Texas, Judge Poe, the wind beneath our wings, the 
man who started this ball rolling, the author of H.R. 2337, which was 
incorporated into the bill before us today. And as Mr. Berman, my good 
friend from California, has pointed out, Judge Poe has been the 
inspiration for this legislation before us today.
  Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the gentlelady for yielding. And I 
appreciate the chair and the ranking member for relentlessly pushing 
this issue to the House floor as fast as it was possible and to the 
good folks down at the Senate, Senator Boxer and Senator Isakson, who 
are the initial sponsors of H.R. 2337 on which we will, here today, 
vote on in a bipartisan way.
  This legislation is bipartisan because it deals with victims of 
crime, American victims of crime. And victims are not a partisan bunch; 
they're just victims. And when someone picks out a victim to commit a 
crime against, partisanship doesn't play any part in it. And it's good 
to see that partisanship doesn't play any part in this legislation in 
opposing it, but it's a bipartisan piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, there's a group of Americans; they are really special 
people. I call them the American ambassadors abroad. They are young 
people. A lot of them are young females right out of college. It 
started with a concept that President Kennedy had many years ago, and 
it's called the Peace Corps, where these American angels abroad leave 
their homes in the 50 States and they go to remote parts of the world 
where many of us would have to look up on a globe or an atlas or the 
Internet to find out exactly where they are. We've never heard of these 
places. They are in third-world countries, primarily. They go out where 
many times the first Americans these folks have ever seen in this 
country are those Peace Corps volunteers that show up, and they show up 
for the sole purpose to make life better for these people overseas, 
sometimes in very small villages. They go and they work in very 
primitive conditions and live very difficultly, trying to do something 
really important to make the world a better place. And they do. They 
are remarkable people.
  When they go overseas, as they have done for the last 50 years, and 
all over the world, sometimes crimes are committed against them. 
Sometimes they are very serious crimes. Sometimes that includes sexual 
assault, rape. And it occurs for a lot of reasons, but it does occur. 
Unfortunately, the Peace Corps back home for a long time ignored some 
of these crimes and some of these victims, and they just weren't 
treated right when they were trying to cry out, saying, Hey, this 
happened to me over there; take care of me when I come back home.
  But now this legislation that has been very carefully drafted will 
fix that problem. It will move us to a direction where we are going to 
take care of these Peace Corps volunteers because what they do is 
important. What the Peace Corps does is important. We just want to 
improve it so that more and more people go and join the Peace Corps, 
but yet they feel safe in what they do.
  These crimes against our Peace Corps volunteers came to light really 
at the end of last year, the beginning of this year. One reason it came 
to light was because of an ABC ``20/20'' special that aired on January 
14, outlining the plight of individual Peace Corps volunteers and how 
they were treated--first the crime, and then sometimes continuing to be 
criminalized. In some cases, our volunteers were treated like the 
criminals and they weren't treated like victims--the offender sometimes 
was treated like a victim of a crime--and those days need to end.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been around a courthouse most of my life down in 
Texas as a prosecutor, as a criminal court judge, and I tried a lot of 
bad, serious cases. One of those cases that comes to the courthouses 
throughout our country is the crime of sexual assault, or rape. That is 
a unique crime because, you see, many times when the offender commits 
that crime against primarily a female, it has nothing to do with sex; 
it has everything to do with power and the destruction of that person's 
identity. These offenders in some cases try to destroy the soul of that 
victim, destroy their identity. And that is why, when the crime is 
committed, we treat those victims with special respect, as they 
rightfully deserve.
  This legislation does that. It improves the Peace Corps. It makes it 
a better institution. But it tells our

[[Page 16321]]

young people that when you go somewhere in the world to represent 
America, to do something good, just to do something good for somebody 
else with no other motive, that we are going to do everything we can to 
protect you, and then we are going to hold people accountable for what 
they do to you. And we are going to do everything we can, as Americans, 
to take care of you if a crime is committed against you.
  In the last 10 years, Mr. Speaker, the Peace Corps has witnessed over 
100 sexual assaults a year against its volunteers. That's 100 too many. 
We want to bring it down to zero.
  As the chairman has mentioned about this legislation, it does several 
things:
  It creates and requires the Peace Corps to follow best practices in 
training volunteers and responding to assaults against these young 
people;
  Second, it creates a system of restricted and unrestricted reporting 
so victims have control over their own information and can report only 
as much as they are comfortable with; and
  Third, it sets up an advisory council to help the Peace Corps develop 
programs. It helps the Peace Corps' sexual assault policy and 
implements it.
  I do want to thank the 87 cosponsors in the House for signing on the 
legislation that I have sponsored. I do want to thank the chairman 
again for the legislation she has sponsored; both passed, as she said, 
the House Committee on Foreign Affairs unanimously in a bipartisan way.
  And I do want to thank the Puzey family, sending their daughter 
overseas and having dealt with the murder of their own child. None of 
us want to ever see our children die before our time. I have got four 
kids. Three of them are girls. I've got nine grandkids. And as parents, 
we don't want to see that happen.
  But their ability to come forward to tell that story and the story 
that others have told, Peace Corps volunteers who are here today, Jess, 
Karestan, Carol, and Liz, they were willing to come before the Foreign 
Affairs Committee and testify about what happened to them and the 
consequences of that. I want to thank them for being willing to be here 
today and also to testify.

                              {time}  1800

  But I also want to thank the Members of Congress for moving this as 
fast as we can. With all that we're doing and going on and the economy 
and all of this, it's important that this legislation pass today.
  I do believe these young people are America's angels abroad. 
Sometimes because of the economy and other reasons, we forget the 
greatness of America. This is a great land. And one of the reasons, one 
of the reasons it's great is because of the people who are here. One of 
the reasons those people are great is because they do things for other 
people. They go to lands they have never been to and they do things for 
people they don't even know. And those are the Peace Corps volunteers.
  I appreciate the time to speak on this. I hope that it passes 
unanimously and sends a message to those Peace Corps volunteers: We 
support you. We support the Peace Corps. We want it to live 50 more 
years, and this bill helps those American ambassadors abroad.


                Sarah Lee, Current Volunteer from Texas

  A woman, let's call her Sarah Lee, who is serving in the Peace Corps 
in a foreign country right now contacted me. Sarah Lee loves her job 
and the organization, but can't get past the fact that she feels 
completely unsafe.
  ``Throughout my service,'' she writes, ``I have witnessed the sorry 
manner in which volunteers are regarded, treated, and protected by 
Peace Corps. It is patently false that volunteers in X country could 
ever be regarded as `safe.'''
  Last year, Sarah Lee was assaulted by another person that was old 
enough to be her father. They were staying at another volunteer's house 
and she fell asleep on the couch. She was awakened in the middle of the 
night by the assailant inappropriately touching and kissing her.
  She reported this to national Peace Corps staff, and talked to 
several members of the executive staff, as well as the Peace Corps 
Medical Officer. She was told to not leave her village. Another 
volunteer came to stay with her because she was having anxiety attacks 
and insomnia and didn't want to be alone.
  While Peace Corps was investigating, the accused volunteer was 
traveling the country, staying at overnight PC houses in bedrooms 
occupied by female volunteers.
  The investigators assigned to her case were terrible. Because she was 
from Texas, they asked if she didn't have more ``conservative'' notions 
of propriety than the perpetrator--as if this was just a violation of 
her southern sensibilities and the perpetrator had every right to 
assault her. They also told her she was attractive, so she must be 
assaulted like this a lot. When she asked about pressing charges, they 
discouraged her. They said a case like this had never been tried 
before, that it would be a precedent setting case, and that if she 
failed, it could hurt future cases.
  Eventually the Peace Corps flew Sarah Lee back to the United States, 
but her counselor was just as bad as the investigators. While she was 
sobbing, the counselor kept asking her how she felt. Because a Peace 
Corps Volunteer can only be kept on medical hold for a certain amount 
of days, she was rushed back to her country even though she did not 
feel ready and was still suffering from panic attacks and insomnia. 
When a fellow in-country volunteer urged her supervisor to give Sarah 
Lee more counseling, they let her talk to a counselor twice on the 
phone before telling her to just email--even though she has to drive to 
the next town for Internet access.
  In the end, the perpetrator quit rather than face being fired. 
Nothing will appear on his record. Peace Corps never did give Sarah Lee 
information on how to press charges.
  Sarah Lee also talks about how male teachers at the school she 
teaches at have repeatedly raped her students, but she can't tell 
anyone. The Peace Corps still has not provided a mechanism through 
which volunteers can report crimes without the fear of reprisal.


                       Mary Joe, Mozambique 2007

  Mary Joe always wanted to help people. After she graduated from 
Seattle University, she worked for a year at a non-profit that tutored 
low-income housing kids.
  She joined the Peace Corps the next year because she wanted to help 
people abroad and, given Peace Corps' reputation, thought this was the 
safe way to go.
  In 2007, she was sent to Cambine, Mozambique to teach English to high 
schoolers.
  One night in the fall she went to dinner in the next town over with 
some fellow volunteers. While at the restaurant, her drink was drugged 
by a man the group had met there. The next thing she remembers is being 
in a car with a man sexually assaulting her. A fellow Peace Corps 
volunteer saw what was going on and pulled her from the car. Mary Joe 
blacked out again until the next morning, when she woke up and called 
the Peace Corps medical officer, who told her to come to the capital 
and get checked out.
  When she arrived the next day, she was denied a rape kit by the 
medical officer, who said she was drunk--not assaulted. In fact, before 
he would give her medicine to fight against possible AIDS exposure as a 
result of the assault, the medical officer made her write down that she 
was drunk and not raped. She was told to come back in a month to find 
out if she had AIDS.
  With no further care, it was clear that Mary Joe was not okay. Back 
at her post, she was startled by and had crying fits over the littlest 
things, couldn't sleep, was depressed, didn't want to leave her house, 
and had terrible nightmares. Mary Joe was disoriented and couldn't 
think clearly for months, yet she was asked to make big decisions. She 
needed someone intimately familiar with her case who could advocate on 
her behalf. After 2 weeks, she finally called her country director, who 
put her in touch with a Peace Corps psychologist in Washington, DC. The 
psychologist had her medevaced back to her hometown in Tucson on 
Halloween in 2007.
  While in Tucson she was given 3 sessions with a counselor and 3 
sessions with a psychiatrist. Following her counselor's recommendation, 
Mary Joe was medically separated from the Peace Corps.
  Because she was no longer with the Peace Corps, she had to go through 
the Department of Labor to get her medical care. She was never told 
that she had to have a psychologist or psychiatrist sign her workers 
compensation claim, so when she submitted it with her counselor's 
signature, it was denied. By the time she was able to see a 
psychologist, it was too late to appeal the claim. She never received 
any more care from the Federal Government for her PTSD.


                        Billie Jo, Romania 1993

  Billie Jo served in Romania from 1993 to 1995. From the day she 
arrived until the day she left, she was constantly harassed physically 
and verbally.
  She couldn't walk out of the house without hearing cat calls. She was 
spit on, punched,

[[Page 16322]]

had chestnuts and rocks thrown at her, and her life threatened. She was 
fondled so much while riding public transportation that she finally 
gave up and walked everywhere.
  Peace Corps knew sexual assaults were happening to all volunteers and 
even talked about it in training, but they didn't take it seriously, 
she said. No legal recourse was offered and when a young man exposed 
himself to Billie Jo and her friend on the beach, the Peace Corps 
country director told her to ``stay out of harm's way.''
  Eventually, Billie Jo requested a new location, Peace Corps staff 
refused. ``No one seemed to care,'' she explained.
  When she got back to the U.S., Billie Jo had to get counselor 
services through her own health care insurance because Peace Corps 
didn't provide any help.
  Billie Jo warned Peace Corps staff not to send women to her post, but 
they did anyway. The young Jewish woman that came after her returned 
home after only a few months into her service when swastikas were drawn 
on her building wall.


                     Jess Smochek, Bangladesh 2004

  Jess Smochek joined the Peace Corps in 2004. Her first day in 
Bangladesh, a group of men groped and kissed her as she walked towards 
her host family's house, but no one did anything to stop them.
  She told Peace Corps staff over and over again that she felt unsafe, 
but again, no one did anything.
  Months later, this same group of men kidnapped her, beat her up, and 
sexually assaulted her.
  They left her unconscious in a back alley.
  The Peace Corps did everything they could to cover it up because they 
were more worried about what the officials in Bangladesh might think 
than caring for her.
  The Peace Corps blamed Jess for the attack, saying she shouldn't have 
been walking alone after 5pm and forced her to write down all the 
things she had done wrong that caused this to happen.
  Rape is never the victim's fault. Ever.
  When she finally got to return home, she was to tell volunteers that 
she was having her wisdom teeth pulled out.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time; and 
with the urging that the body do pass this, and hopefully pass this 
unanimously, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  For 50 years Peace Corps volunteers have given their generous talents 
and skills to help the poor in developing countries, thereby increasing 
understanding between diverse cultures. Peace Corps volunteers live 
within the communities that they serve, and they are often located in 
places with unreliable access to communication, nor to the police, nor 
for medical services. And historically, sadly, media have underplayed 
the dangers of serving in the Peace Corps and they have underreported 
or overlooked any criticism or any problem related to the Peace Corps.
  But now their own volunteers, the Peace Corps' own volunteers, have 
come forward with a demand for change. Congress has had several 
previous opportunities to help pass reform legislation to help the 
Peace Corps better protect its volunteers overseas. But, sadly, these 
efforts and these previous attempts have fallen short.
  Now we have this bill, Senate bill S. 1280, that has had bipartisan 
and bicameral support and was drafted with the input from the Peace 
Corps itself and from the volunteers also.
  It is unacceptable that U.S. citizens, Peace Corps volunteers, do not 
enjoy protection from regional security officers who are stationed at 
our overseas diplomatic posts because their role in protecting 
volunteers has not been clearly defined. Regional security officers are 
United States law enforcement officials. They're deployed overseas, and 
they are in the best position to serve U.S. citizens and work with 
their foreign law enforcement counterparts to seek justice on behalf of 
crime victims. As the Peace Corps Inspector General reported over 18 
months ago, further delay in forming this Memorandum of Understanding 
could compromise volunteer safety and hinder response to crimes against 
volunteers.
  The language in this bill states that if the MOU is not entered into 
within 6 months of the bill becoming law, then the Director must report 
to the committee on the reasons for failing to meet this deadline, 
along with a detailed certification on steps taken toward meeting this 
requirement in a timely fashion.
  This language is the result of extensive bipartisan consultation, 
including regular discussion with our counterparts in the Senate. This 
bill is a substantial step forward and will help address longstanding 
safety and security problems for volunteers. For the brave victims who 
came forward and for Kate Puzey who gave her life in the service of the 
Peace Corps, help us pass this bill.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the Kate Puzey 
Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act. I am a Returned Peace Corps 
Volunteer, steadfast Peace Corps champion, and original cosponsor of 
the House version of this legislation. Kate Puzey was an intelligent, 
brave young woman from Georgia who was tragically murdered while 
serving in the Peace Corps in Benin. I was privileged to speak with 
Kate's family about what a remarkable person Kate was, and I am deeply 
inspired by the Puzey family's commitment to turn unspeakable 
heartbreak into important action to ensure that what happened to Kate 
never, ever happens again. Kate truly represented the best of what 
Peace Corps can be and this legislation in her honor ensures that all 
Volunteers will get the best possible protections and training.
  I was very troubled to hear the stories of other Volunteers who have 
received insufficient or insensitive support during their Peace Corps 
service. Earlier this year, I spoke with two courageous returned 
Volunteers, Karestan Koenen and Jessica Smochek, and learned about 
their traumatic experiences of rape and sexual assault while serving in 
the Peace Corps and the inadequate assistance they received afterward. 
These two women, like every Volunteer, deserve the best possible 
support, and I commend them and the other returned Volunteer victims 
who have bravely come forward and shared their stories. Like the Puzey 
family, the trauma these individuals have suffered is unimaginable, but 
their actions have already helped to make Peace Corps a stronger 
agency.
  I applaud Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams for taking immediate 
action to reform the agency's commitment to safety, sexual assault 
prevention and response, and security. Director Williams has worked 
closely with the Puzey family, returned Volunteers, and experts in 
victims' rights to develop new policies and strengthen existing ones to 
enhance the support and safety of Volunteers. These reforms include 
appointing the agency's first Victim Advocate, implementing a new 
Volunteer and staff sexual assault training, and signing a Memorandum 
of Understanding with the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network 
(RAINN) to collaborate on sexual assault prevention. Peace Corps has 
also created a Peace Corps Volunteer Sexual Assault Panel which 
provides advice and input on sexual assault risk reduction and response 
strategies. The Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act both 
codifies and compliments the important reforms that Director Williams 
has put in place so that the next generation of Volunteers like Kate, 
Karestan, and Jessica will have the safety protections; compassionate, 
informed support; and necessary resources they deserve.
  Mr. Speaker, Peace Corps Volunteers represent the best of what 
America has to offer and it is only right that America offers them the 
best. I thank the Puzey family, Karestan, Jessica, and all the returned 
Volunteers and advocates who have committed themselves to making Peace 
Corps a better, stronger agency. The efforts of their work will forever 
benefit future generations of Peace Corps Volunteers.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, on March 12, 2009, Kate Puzey, a 24-
year-old native of Cumming, Georgia and Peace Corps volunteer was 
killed outside of her home in Badjoude, Benin where she worked as an 
English teacher. She was murdered by a Beninese Peace Corps contract 
employee after she reported that he had raped and sexually abused 
students they taught together. Had the legislation we are considering 
here today, S. 1280, The Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection 
Act of 2011 been law when Ms. Puzey first arrived in Benin in 2007, it 
might have saved her life.
  Today, the Peace Corps does not require its volunteers to receive 
training in risk reduction or in how to recognize and respond to 
incidences of sexual assault. And, unlike other federal agencies, Peace 
Corps volunteers do not enjoy whistleblower protections. It is a shame 
that it took the untimely death of Ms. Puzey to focus our attention on 
the necessity of addressing these issues.

[[Page 16323]]

  S. 1280 directs the Peace Corps to establish sexual assault response 
teams made up of safety and security officers, medical staff, and a 
victim's advocate that can respond to reports of sexual assaults 
against a volunteer; requires the immediate removal of any volunteer 
who feels at risk of imminent bodily harm; and, requires the Peace 
Corps to develop and implement a process to allow volunteers to report 
incidents of misconduct or mismanagement, or violations of any policy 
of the Peace Corps in order to protect the confidentiality and safety 
of such volunteers.
  Every year, hundreds of conscientious young Peace Corps volunteers 
like Kate Puzey, support communities around the world, helping those 
less fortunate than themselves. As with members of our Armed Forces, 
these dedicated global public servants deserve to know their country is 
committed to their safety and will do all it can to protect them.
  As a cosponsor of the House analogue to this bill, I ask my 
colleagues to join me in support of S. 1280, in memory of the work and 
sacrifice of Kate Puzey and for the sake of those who choose to follow 
her into the Peace Corps.
  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1280, the Kate 
Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011. This bill is named 
after a brave young woman who was murdered while volunteering with the 
Peace Corps in Benin in 2009. S. 1280 is a vital component in the 
effort to protect Peace Corps volunteers who are dedicated to public 
service, like Kate Puzey, from unnecessary and senseless violence.
  In the two years since Kate's death, much attention has been focused 
on concerns about the safety of Peace Corps volunteers, and I applaud 
the Peace Corps for instituting essential improvements to their Sexual 
Assault Prevention and Response Program in the wake of this tragedy. To 
implement further protections, S. 1280 will expand the Peace Corps' 
safety precautions in several concrete, practical ways.
  S. 1280 will ensure that all applicants are provided with a 
historical analysis of crimes and risks in their prospective countries 
of service, will provide further protection for female volunteers who 
are particularly vulnerable while living in foreign countries, and will 
institute sexual run assault risk-reduction and response training and 
country-specific means of seeking care. It contains provisions that 
will protect the anonymity of volunteers who report sexual assault and 
allows them to report cases to the Inspector General. It will also 
increase government accountability in responding to sexual assault 
through a Sexual Assault Advisory Council, a committee of past 
volunteers and experts who will ensure the Peace Corps is executing 
best practices.
  As a returned Peace Corps volunteer who served in El Salvador, I have 
personally witnessed the ways in which the Peace Corps provides 
opportunities for personal and professional development for young 
Americans. During my time as a volunteer, I was transformed from a 
young college graduate with little direction into a confident public 
servant with a passion for eradicating poverty. The pride one feels in 
being an ambassador for their country is immeasurable, and I will 
always keep the lessons I learned in the Peace Corps close to my heart. 
For these reasons, I continue to advocate for the expansion of the 
Peace Corps into double the number of countries in which it currently 
operates. After all, for the cost of sending one soldier to 
Afghanistan, we could send thirteen Peace Corps Volunteers to serve 
their country in the name of peace.
  While my experience in the Peace Corps exposed me to myriad positive 
opportunities, I am aware that some volunteers have served in dangerous 
or threatening situations. By implementing strong safety standards and 
a firm protocol for handling sexual assault and harassment, women in 
the Peace Corps will no longer be subjected to intimidation and exposed 
to danger. This will enable even more volunteers to take advantage of 
the same opportunities for growth I did. I urge my colleagues to pass 
the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act so we can continue 
to provide a positive and fulfilling experience for all Peace Corps 
volunteers.
  Mr. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1280, the Kate 
Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011.
  S. 1280 honors the memory of Kate Puzey. Kate, a 24-year-old Peace 
Corps volunteer from the state of Georgia, was murdered in 2009 while 
serving as a teacher in a village in the West African country of Benin.
  Shortly before her death, Kate had reported that a foreign national, 
working under contract for the Peace Corps, had allegedly molested some 
of the young girls.
  Kate had requested anonymity and confidentiality because the man's 
brother worked at the Peace Corps office.
  Unfortunately Kate is not the only Peace Corps volunteer who has been 
victimized while serving overseas.
  During the last 10 years, Peace Corps volunteers have reported an 
average of 22 rapes and 267 assaults per year.
  Not only are these statistics far higher than the national average, 
according to 2008 data from the Department of Justice, but Peace Corps 
data suggest twice as many assaults occur than are reported.
  S. 1280 provides much-needed reform of the Peace Corps to protect 
volunteers against sexual assault and other violent crimes and to care 
for victims of such crimes.
  Specifically the bill provides risk-reduction and response training, 
a new Office of Victims Advocacy, confidential reporting, and other 
measures.
  For the sake of the 8,655 Peace Corps volunteers serving in 77 
countries around the world, representing the best of our country's 
values, often at great personal risk, I urge the passage of this bill.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 
1280, ``The Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011.'' 
This bill amends the Peace Corps Act to require sexual assault risk-
reduction and response training. It requires the development of a 
comprehensive sexual assault policy, the establishment of an Office of 
Victim Advocacy, and the establishment of a Sexual Assault Advisory.
  On October 14, 1960, during the final three weeks of the presidential 
campaign, candidate John F. Kennedy addressed students at the 
University of Michigan. He challenged these students to give two years 
of their lives to help people in developing countries. The root of the 
Peace Corps is in former President Kennedy's challenge to those 
students, and to us all. Since the Peace Corps was founded, more than 
200,000 volunteers have served in 139 countries, helping people build 
better lives for themselves, and better futures for their children.
  The Peace Corps mission trains the citizens of developing nations in 
a vast variety of skills and subjects, promotes a better understanding 
of Americans, and promotes a better understanding of the culture of the 
nation in which they are serving. Those who volunteer their service to 
the Peace Corps are fulfilling an unwritten commandment of service to 
the least among us, and their safety must be protected. The Peace Corps 
has served as a great vehicle of cultural exchange and awareness for 
the last 50 years and I applaud the organization and all of its 
volunteers. However, the Peace Corp must do more to address the 
concerns raised by current and former volunteers and establish a 
comprehensive sexual assault program.
  At this time 234 of the 7,109 volunteers, nearly five percent of all 
members, are from my home state of Texas, where I represent the 18th 
Congressional District. These altruistic Texans currently serve people 
in Belize, Zambia and Kazakhstan, and other developing nations 
throughout the world. I commend all of the brave humanitarians serving 
in the Peace Corps. We must ensure that all Peace Corps volunteers 
receive the training they need to provide for their safety and security 
as they travel the world.
  This bill was named after a Peace Corp volunteer Kate Puzey. Kate was 
serving in Benin on the Western coast of Africa when she began to 
suspect that some of the young girls in the village were being sexually 
exploited. Kate informed the School Director, who did not want to 
confront the suspected individual. Kate's mother reports that Kate was 
becoming increasingly concerned with his behavior, and in February, 
2009, he confessed to Kate that he had raped two students. Because 
there were no clearly outlined procedures to report such complaints, 
Kate had no official avenue to report the disturbing information. 
Furthermore, Constant Bio's brother worked as an Assistant Director in 
local Peace Corps Headquarters, so, in late February 2009, Kate elected 
to travel to another Peace Corps work-station where she requested 
assistance from the Peace Corps Benin Director.
  On March 2, 2009, Kate was emailed, confirming receipt of her report, 
and four days later, she was sent another email informing her Mr. Bio's 
contract would not be renewed, and that he would be informed why. Kate 
never received these emails; not having Internet access in her village, 
she had requested to be contacted by phone. Her confidentiality was not 
maintained, and her accused killer was informed of her role in his 
firing. On March 11, 2009, Kate was found murdered at her home in the 
village of Badjoude. Mr. Bio is currently in custody for this horrific 
murder.
  Unfortunately, the tragic murder of Kate Puzey is not the only 
devastating event that has affected a Peace Corps volunteer. An average 
of 22 women reported being raped in

[[Page 16324]]

the Peace Corps every year between 2000 and 2009. I am greatly saddened 
that any of our Peace Corp volunteers, our nation's representatives 
have suffered from the malicious crimes of sexual assault.
  I am further troubled that many of these crimes have not received the 
attention they deserve. The victim of a sexual assault, should not be 
victimized again by inaction. This bill would provide men and women 
with the knowledge they need to report and act upon reports of sexual 
assault. According to the Congressional Research Service, 60 percent of 
volunteers in the Peace Corps are women, with an average age of 28 
years old. It is essential that these volunteers are protected.
  The Peace Corps was established to show the world that America's 
greatness is cemented in its goal to maintain world peace and 
friendship. Thousands of Americans have volunteered to promote these 
values through kind deeds in countries whose cultural attitudes and 
values are much different than those of America's, especially towards 
women. In this country, we value women's rights, and implement laws and 
policies to protect those rights. When those laws are violated, we go 
to great lengths to see that justice prevails.
  We, as all Americans, value the Peace Corps. This Congress has passed 
legislation that makes it possible for the Peace Corps to continue 
doing its great work representing the essence of America's values. With 
this legislation, in honor of Kate Puzey, Congress will ensure that the 
Peace Corps will be sufficiently responsive and sensitive to victims of 
crime. I am pleased to support this bill, and urge my colleagues to do 
the same.
  Ms. TSONGAS. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained attending a 
funeral on November 1, 2011 and was unable to cast a vote for the Kate 
Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act, a bill which I strongly 
endorse. Had I been present, I would have voted for it on rollcall Vote 
817.
  I strongly support the Peace Corps program. My late husband Paul 
Tsongas served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia from 1962-1964, 
and as Peace Corps Country Director in the West Indies in 1967 and 
1968. He went on to become the first former Peace Corps volunteer to be 
elected to the U.S. Senate. Our daughter Ashley served as a Peace Corps 
volunteer in Madagascar.
  Peace Corps volunteers brave many challenges during their service. 
That is why I was proud to be an early supporter of the Kate Puzey 
Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act, which strengthens the Peace Corps 
and ensures that volunteers have the support and resources they need. 
Volunteers deserve to be treated with dignity, empowerment, and respect 
in the event that they are a victim of a crime like sexual assault. 
And, addressing these challenges will strengthen the Peace Corps as an 
institution and make it a program in which more Americans will want to 
participate.
  One of the challenges when confronting this crime is that victims of 
sexual assault often face blame for their victimization. This is one of 
very few crimes, if not the only crime, where a victim's intentions and 
actions are scrutinized and questioned following an assault. To address 
this, the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act requires the 
Peace Corps to create a sexual assault response team and guarantees 
that victims have access to a Victim Advocate. It further requires that 
volunteers be fully informed of their rights to file a report, for 
treatment, for a forensic evidence examination, for emergency health 
treatment, and for legal representation. The Peace Corps has already 
acted proactively to address many of these issues. This Act further 
codifies these reforms.
  We owe a great debt to anyone who is harmed while serving our 
country. We may never be able to eradicate crimes in other countries 
where our volunteers work, but we can change the way our institutions 
respond to them. These improvements will strengthen the Peace Corps and 
guarantee its success for years to come.
  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, on the evening of March 11, 2011, 
hundreds of people gathered on the West Lawn of the United States 
Capitol Building for a candlelight vigil honoring the memory of Peace 
Corps Volunteer Kate Puzey.
  Two years earlier on that date, Kate was murdered while serving in 
Benin after she accused a local teacher of sexually abusing his 
students. Believing that Kate's experience could be used to prevent 
similar tragedies, her family and friends created ``Kate's Voice 
Advocacy Group'' and began a nationwide campaign to urge reforms.
  Collaborating with First Response Action, a group representing Peace 
Corps Volunteers who were sexually or otherwise assaulted, ``Kate's 
Voice'' met with lawmakers and tirelessly advocated policies designed 
to support and protect all Peace Corps Volunteers, at home or in the 
field.
  Tonight the House will consider S. 1280, the Kate Puzey Peace Corps 
Volunteer Protection Act of 2011, which will enhance existing 
procedures for victims of physical and sexual assault in the Peace 
Corps and establish clear protocols for handling and reporting 
confidential information within the agency.
  Specifically, this legislation requires the Peace Corps to provide 
enhanced sexual assault risk reduction and response training to all 
volunteers and integrate that knowledge with safety and security 
protocols at every Peace Corps post. Volunteers in training will 
receive an in-depth analysis of the particular risks they face in a 
given country and be provided with clear, written guidelines regarding 
whom to contact and what steps to take in the event of a sexual 
assault.
  S. 1280 creates an anonymous hotline for reporting sexual assaults 
and sets up response teams that will be deployed the moment an incident 
is reported. A certified victim's advocate who answers to the Director 
of the Peace Corps will be required on staff to oversee the initiative 
and manage data collection for further studies analyzing safety and 
security trends.
  Mr. Speaker, the Peace Corps has sent over 200,000 Americans to live 
and work in 139 developing countries since it was established by an 
executive order from President John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961. Now in 
its 50th year, the agency continues to fill the gaps left behind by 
conflict, strife, and environmental degradation around the globe. For 2 
years they develop partnerships, gain valuable knowledge, and help 
their communities meet local development goals. In the process, they 
build lifelong bonds and gain a greater understanding of America's 
place in the world.
  The world in which Peace Corps Volunteers work is the real world, Mr. 
Speaker. It can be dangerous and uncertain. Therefore, issues of health 
and safety are of critical concern, especially during those first few 
months it takes a volunteer to adjust to the realities of his or her 
new life.
  The provisions of this legislation were developed with extensive 
input from affected individuals and their families, victims' rights 
groups, Peace Corps senior staff, and the Returned Peace Corps 
Volunteer (RPCV) community. Kate's memory, embodied in her family, 
friends, and supporters, moved the process forward.
  Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams testified on May 11, 2011 at a 
hearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and affirmed that 
he is committed to meeting the goals espoused by Kate's Voice and First 
Response Action.
  ``The Peace Corps has not always been sufficiently responsive or 
sensitive to victims of crime and their families,'' he admitted. He 
went on to offer a public apology and described how such attitudes are 
changing on his watch.
  Indeed, much of the substance of S. 1280 is already being implemented 
within the agency. Director Williams created the Victim's Advocate 
position and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Rape, Abuse 
and Incest National Network (RAINN), the nation's largest anti-sexual 
violence organization, to collaborate and share resources on sexual 
assault prevention and response.
  Mr. Speaker, based on the Peace Corps receptivity to these reforms 
and the bipartisan nature of this legislation, I am confident that S. 
1280 is an enlightened response to the pressing concerns of Peace Corps 
Volunteers and their families.
  As a committed friend of the Peace Corps and its mission, I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation and provide the resources 
necessary to implement it without threatening the operational capacity 
of the agency.
  The remarkable collaboration that conceived the Kate Puzey Act was an 
unparalleled labor of love. It was an earnest push to strengthen the 
program and prepare it for the future. It was not meant to hurt or 
punish the agency.
  One of the witnesses at the May 11th hearing put it bluntly: ``I 
would be devastated if my testimony were used to stop Peace Corps 
funding, cut funding, or eliminate the Peace Corps.''
  I strongly encourage my colleagues to keep that thought in mind as we 
consider this bipartisan legislation, which is the legacy of many 
extraordinary Americans, some of whom never returned from their 
missions abroad.
  To honor the memories of fallen Volunteers, respect the survivors who 
courageously shared their stories, and encourage the next generation 
which recognizes the power of service, I will vote for this legislation 
in its current form, and I urge my colleagues to do likewise.

[[Page 16325]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 1280.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from 
the Speaker's table the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 31) 
directing the Secretary of the Senate to make a correction in the 
enrollment of S. 1280, and ask for its immediate consideration in the 
House.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 31

       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That, in the enrollment of the bill (S. 1280) to 
     amend the Peace Corps Act to require sexual assault risk-
     reduction and response training, the development of a sexual 
     assault policy, the establishment of an Office of Victim 
     Advocacy, the establishment of a Sexual Assault Advisory 
     Council, and for other purposes, the Secretary of the Senate 
     shall make the following corrections:
        Amend section 8C of the Peace Corps Act, in the quoted 
     material in section 2 of the bill, by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(e) Sunset.--This section shall cease to be effective on 
     October 1, 2018.''.
       Amend section 8D of the Peace Corps Act, in the quoted 
     material in section 2 of the bill, by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(g) Sunset.--This section shall cease to be effective on 
     October 1, 2018.''.
       Amend section 8E of the Peace Corps Act, in the quoted 
     material in section 2 of the bill--
       (1) in subsection (c), by striking ``The President shall 
     annually conduct'' and inserting ``Annually through September 
     30, 2018, the President shall conduct'';
       (2) in subsection (d)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``a biennial report'' 
     and inserting ``a report, not later than one year after the 
     date of the enactment of this section, and biennially through 
     September 30, 2018,''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``not later than two 
     years after the date of the enactment of this section and 
     every three years thereafter'' and inserting ``not later than 
     two years and five years after the date of the enactment of 
     this section''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(e) Portfolio Reviews.--
       ``(1) In general.--The President shall, at least once every 
     3 years, perform a review to evaluate the allocation and 
     delivery of resources across the countries the Peace Corps 
     serves or is considering for service. Such portfolio reviews 
     shall at a minimum include the following with respect to each 
     such country:
       ``(A) An evaluation of the country's commitment to the 
     Peace Corps program.
       ``(B) An analysis of the safety and security of volunteers.
       ``(C) An evaluation of the country's need for assistance.
       ``(D) An analysis of country program costs.
       ``(E) An evaluation of the effectiveness of management of 
     each post within a country.
       ``(F) An evaluation of the country's congruence with the 
     Peace Corp's mission and strategic priorities.
       ``(2) Briefing.--Upon request of the Chairman and Ranking 
     Member of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate or 
     the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives, the President shall brief such committees on 
     each portfolio review required under paragraph (1). If 
     requested, each such briefing shall discuss performance 
     measures and sources of data used (such as project status 
     reports, volunteer surveys, impact studies, reports of 
     Inspector General of the Peace Corps, and any relevant 
     external sources) in making the findings and conclusions in 
     such review.''.
       Amend section 8I(a) of the Peace Corps Act, in the quoted 
     material in section 2, by inserting ``through September 30, 
     2018,'' after ``annually''.
       Strike section 8.
       Redesignate sections 9 and 10 as sections 8 and 9, 
     respectively.
       Strike section 11.

  The concurrent resolution was concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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