News & Events

Feb 28, 2010

28 Lawmakers Now Signed On to House Peace Corps Funding Letter

The number of Congressmen/women signing on to the Peace Corps funding letter being circulated by RPCV Congressmen Farr, Honda, Petri, Driehaus and Garamendi has climed to 28.

The latest additions are Representatives Keith Ellison (MN), Ed Markey (MA), Henry Waxman (CA), Donald Payne (NJ), Donna Edwards (MD), John Conyers (MI), Hank Johnson (GA), Jan Schakowsky (IL) and Jerrold Nadler (NY).

Follow this link for the complete list of signers to date.  Securing additional signatures will be a primary focus of Tuesday's National Day of Action.  A similar letter is expected to begin circulating in the U.S. Senate this week.

Feb 26, 2010

House Peace Corps Funding Letter Signatures Jump to 19

In the House of Representatives, the Dear Colleague letter issued Wednesday by RPCV Congressmen Farr, Honda, Petri, Driehaus and Garamendi is off to a great start!

The letter, which requests $465 million for the Peace Corps for Fiscal Year 2010, now has 19 signatures.

The latest additions are Representatives Edolphus Towns (NY), Mazie Hirono (HI), Barney Frank (MA), John Sarbanes (MD), Jim McGovern (MA), Luis Gutierrez (IL), Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX) and Dennis Moore (KS).

You can see the complete list of sign ons by following this link.

This letter will be a major focus of next Tuesday's National Day of Action.  If you want to take action now with your Congressman/woman, follow this link to our February 24th update and look for a phone action in the middle of the story.

Feb 24, 2010

Action Begins in House to Increase Peace Corps Funding

As the March 2nd National Day of Action in Support of the Peace Corps is just days away, the U.S. House of Representatives is starting to take action.  You can get a jump start on your Day of Action activities now!

Once again this year, the five RPCVs in the House (Congressmen Farr, Honda, Petri, Driehaus and Garamendi) have issued a "Dear Colleague" letter that other lawmakers are being asked to sign.  The letter seeks $465 million for the Peace Corps in Fiscal Year 2011.  This would be a 16% increase from current funding, and is roughly 4% higher than President Obama's requested $446 million.

Six other Congressmen/women have already added their name to this letter.  They are Madeleine Bordallo (Guam), Yvette Clarke (NY), Diana DeGette (CO), Gwen Moore (WI), Bill Pascrell Jr. (NJ) and David Price (NC).  If you reach out to these lawmakers, thank them for signing the letter.

If your Congressman/woman is yet on this list, you can take the following action:

1. Call the Capitol Hill Switchboard (877-851-6437) and ask to be connected to the office of your Congressman/woman.
2. Once connected, identify yourself as a constituent and leave this message:  "I'm a big supporter of the Peace Corps and am calling to urge Representative ______ to sign the Farr-Honda-Petri Dear Colleague letter to significantly increase Fiscal Year 2011 funding for the Peace Corps."
3. Contact us at to let us know you took action.

Return to the News and Events Page of this website for regular updates on signers of the House Peace Corps funding letter.  This letter will be a major focus of the March 2nd Day of Action.  A similar Senate letter is expected to be circulating soon.

Not sure who your Congressman/woman is?  Visit www.house.gov and go to the "Find Your Representative" section in the upper left corner of the page.

(Photo above - RPCV Congressmen Farr, Petri, Driehaus and Honda - pictured at last year's National Peace Corps Association Director's Circle meeting - are joined by new RPCV Congressman Garamendi in authoring the Peace Corps funding letter for Fiscal Year 2011)

Feb 02, 2010

Day of Action National Conference Calls Planned

Getting ready for the March 2nd National Day of Action?  Want to learn more about it and how you can help?

A series of national conference calls will be held throughout the month of February to help you prepare for the Day of Action.

Contact us at to register for any of these upcoming calls.  Then, share this information with others you know.

(Please note: The February 16th conference call is for NPCA member group representatives and will include a general overview of NPCA advocacy.  All other calls are open to any interested advocates)

• Thursday, February 11th     9:00 PM - 10:00 PM EST
• Saturday, February 13th     10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EST
• Tuesday, February 16th         8:00 PM - 9:00 PM EST
• Tuesday, February 23rd        9:00 PM - 10:00 PM EST
• Saturday, February 27th     10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EST
• Sunday, February 28th          6:00 PM - 7:00 PM EST

Feb 01, 2010

President Obama Requests $446 million for Peace Corps

In releasing his Fiscal Year 2011 budget to Congress, President Barack Obama is recommending $446.15 million for the Peace Corps.  This would represent an 11.5% increase over current Peace Corps funding.

Language in the President's budget suggests it will increase "volunteer numbers, recruitment efforts and the entry of the Peace Corps into new countries in order to have approximately 9,400 Americans enrolled in the Peace Corps by the end of 2012 and 11,000 by the end of 2016."  Peace Corps currently reports roughly 7,700 volunteers and trainees in the field.

The President's budget also references steps included in the Fiscal Year 2010 appropriation (approved by Congress and signed into law last December 16th) related to a better and bolder Peace Corps. That language states that "not later than 45 days after enactment of this Act, the (Peace Corps) Director shall submit a spending plan to the Committees on Appropriations on the proposed uses of funds."  Not later than 180 days after enactment (June 16, 2010), "the Director shall, after consultation with the Committees on Appropriations, submit a report to the Committees that includes the findings of a comprehensive assessment of the current program model of the Peace Corps and a strategy for reforming and improving operations."  Persuasive and compelling reports on use of the funds and improving its operations will be critical to generating congressional support for another significant funding increase.

"Although short of our More Peace Corps campaign's goal of doubling the size of the Peace Corps by the 50th anniversary, the President's Peace Corps request represents a continued commitment to service through an expanded and improved Peace Corps," said National Peace Corps Association President Kevin Quigley.  "We will move forward with Peace Corps leaders in Congress to secure at least the President's request for Fiscal Year 2011."

Current funding for the Peace Corps - $400 million - provided the largest single-year dollar increase ($60 million) in the history of the agency.  If the President's Fiscal Year 2011 request is approved, it would mark the second highest increase in history and the largest percentage increase (other than last year) since 1991.

You can follow this pdf link to read more about the funding request for Peace Corps in relation to the entire budget proposal for the State Department and other international affairs programs.

Jan 21, 2010

Ambassador Says Peace Corps Experience Makes Her a Better Diplomat

Today's Korea Times includes a feature article on the current U.S. Ambassador, Kathleen Stephens, who served as a Korea Peace Corps volunteer between 1975 - 77.

A classroom teacher in South Chungcheong Province, "Stephens said that the experiences shaped her skills and ideas about what she wanted to do with her life later on."  The article quotes Ambassador Stephens as saying "(Peace Corps) made me a better diplomat. And my first exposure to Korea in the 1970s left me, as it did many Peace Corps volunteers, with a lifelong interest in all things Korean."

You can read the complete article by following this link.  The article coincides with a photo exhibition opening today in Seoul celebrating volunteerism between the two countries, and highlighting the work of Korea RPCVs.  Since 1990, the Korea Overseas Volunteer Program has sent more than 6,000 South Koreans to more than 50 nations as volunteers. 

Jan 20, 2010

Gearing Up for the National Day of Action

The first week of March is Peace Corps Week, marking the signing of a presidential executive order creating the Peace Corps.

It is also the week when the National Peace Corps Association and its MorePeaceCorps Campaign mobilizes activists for an annual "National Day of Action" in support of the Peace Corps.

Please mark your calendars as Tuesday, March 2nd, will be this year's Day of Action.   We hope everyone will - at the very least - set aside five minutes on that day to make a phone call, send an email or send a fax to their representatives in Congress urging continued support for a bigger, better and bolder Peace Corps.

For those living in or near Washington DC, there's a lot to do to help prepare for the Day of Action.  This includes volunteer advocates who can participate in Capitol Hill meetings on the 2nd.  If you can volunteer, please let us know.

If you live elsewhere, please start reaching out to friends, family and other members of the Peace Corps community to let them know about the Day of Action.

The Day of Action is timely in that it comes several weeks after the President submits his Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal to Congress.

Stay tuned for updates as the Day of Action approaches.  For volunteer information and other questions, please contact