Facts about the HR 1066 & Peace Corps

• HR 1066, the Peace Corps Expansion Act 2009 was introduced in February 13, 2009 with forty co-sponsors. The Bill, which is focused on funding, calls for $450 million, $600 million, and $750 million to Peace Corps in FY 2010, 2011, and 2012. If we can get 218 co-sponsors, a majority in the House of Representatives, it will get passed.
• The number of co-sponsors on HR 1066 doubled in less than a month due to the efforts of the four RPCVs in the House of Representative and Congresswoman Betty McCollum of Minnesota.
• HR 1066 is an authorizing bill not an appropriating bill. It's not a hard thing for them to sign on.
• The number of co-sponsors we get will directly determine whether the Bill will pass and whether the appropriators will be compelled to appropriate the funds authorized in the Bill. It's a numbers game.
• In 2009, Peace Corps will send 500 fewer volunteers than in 2008. This represents a 15% reduction in the number of volunteers at a time when the President has pledged to double Peace Corps.
• In 2008, we sent under 4,000 volunteers into Peace Corps, half the number in 1966. In 2009, we will send under 3,500.
• There are between 20 and 25 countries today requesting Peace Corps volunteers including Indonesia but Peace Corps lacks the resources to respond.
• Over 13,000 people applied for under 4,000 spots in Peace Corps in 2008 alone. This was a 16% increase over 2007. The number of applicants of color and applicants over the age of 50 also rose substantially in 2008.
• President Obama has pledged to double the size of Peace Corps by 2011 on Whitehouse.gov.
• Applicants are reporting one-year deferrals when applying to Peace Corps due to the budget shortfall.
• Over 100 prominent members of society including former President Jimmy Carter have joined the MorePeaceCorps Advisory Council.
• President Kennedy’s early vision for the Peace Corps was to send 100,000 volunteers per year.