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COMMEMORATING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PEACE CORPS SEPTEMBER 22,
2021
______
HON. JOHN GARAMENDI
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today marks a very important event--the 60th anniversary of the Peace Corps. On September 22, 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed the Peace Corps Act (Public Law 87-293). To date, more than 240,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in 142 countries around the world. Prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic, there were nearly 8,000 Peace Corps volunteers serving in 61 countries. Today, Peace Corps volunteers stand ready to return to their crucial work once it is safe and prudent to do so.
Like successive generations of young Americans, my wife Patti and I answered President Kennedy's call and served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia from 1966 to 1968. As co-chair of the Congressional Peace Corps Caucus, I am proud to continue working in support of the Peace Corps' mission, its volunteers, and the indelible impact their service has on the lives of so many around the world.
And so today we commemorate 60 years of Peace Corps. We celebrate over 240,000 Peace Corps volunteers who have served around the world, and we celebrate those who have worked to fulfill the three goals both during and after their volunteer service: 1) To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women; 2) To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served; and 3) To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
As Peace Corps volunteers have returned to America, they have continued to serve over their lifetimes. They serve as volunteers at twice the rate of other Americans. They are in our nation's schools as educators. They are in community programs as leaders and mentors across the country. And a few are even found in the United States Congress.
Today, there are global leaders of many countries who have been taught by Peace Corps volunteers in their high schools, in their grammar schools, or in their universities. They have a very special understanding of America because of the Peace Corps. They know Americans. They know that Americans have a big heart, and they have a desire to see progress, economic and social progress, in every country of this world.
The benefits of the Peace Corps at home and abroad are undeniable. Congress last reauthorized the Peace Corps in 1999 (Public Law 106-30), which expired at the end of fiscal year 2003. Now more than ever, Congress must support the Peace Corps' mission and realize President Kennedy's vision of generations of young Americans, ready to serve their nation and make the world a better place.
The bipartisan ``Peace Corps Reauthorization Act of 2021'' (H.R. 1456), which I introduced earlier this year on National Peace Corps Day
(March 1), would do just that by providing additional federal resources to better support current, returning, and former Peace Corps volunteers. This critical legislation will help the agency and volunteers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
H.R. 1456 builds upon the Sam Farr and Nick Castle Peace Corps Reform Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-256) and the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-57). The bill guarantees additional health insurance coverage for returned volunteers immediately following their service and requires the Peace Corps to better facilitate long-term public and private health insurance coverage options for returned volunteers. The bill also increases the federal workers' compensation rate for all Peace Corps volunteers injured or disabled during their service and strengthens protections of volunteers against reprisals or retaliations for reporting wrongdoing or malfeasance.
President Kennedy understood in 1961 that the Peace Corps would
``permit our people to exercise more fully their responsibilities in the great common cause of world development.'' I can think of no better way to honor the 60 years of Peace Corps service than for this Congress to pass the bipartisan ``Peace Corps Reauthorization Act of 2021''
(H.R. 1456) to advance that vision into the 21st century.
To all the current and returned Peace Corps volunteers, I thank them for their commitment to serving others on this, the 60th anniversary. Our work continues.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 164
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