MorePeaceCorps: Bigger. Better. Bolder.

Join us in our push for $450 Million

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Dear Senator,

I am writing  from ____ to respectfully request you to become a co-sponsor of the Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act 2009 (s. 1382) introduced by Senator Chris Dodd, a former Peace Corps volunteer, on June 25, 2009.  This bill will help build a bigger, better, bolder Peace Corps for a new century.

Senator Dodd’s bill authorizes $450, $575, and $700 million to the Peace Corps in FY 2010, 2011, and 2012 – incremental funding increases that would allow the Peace Corps to double the number of volunteers to allow twice as many men and women to serve their country.  The bill also lays out strategies for empowering the new Peace Corps director to be more strategic in volunteer recruitment, placement, and training. 

Recently, the House of Representatives with bipartisan support approved a $450 million appropriation in 2010.  The Senate, on July 9, 2009, approved just $373 million, an anemic 10% increase that would allow no meaningful growth or reform.  Thus, I also urge you to support the full $450 million when this issue comes to conference.  With the cost per Peace Corps volunteer estimated at under $30,000 per year, given the benefits to host countries and to the United States, this is one of the most responsible decisions we as a nation can make.

The Peace Corps is undersized and starved for resources.  Today, we send half the number of volunteer compared with 1966 despite the Peace Corps mission being as relevant today as it was then.   In 2009, the anemic $340 million Peace Corps budget resulted in 500 positions being cut.    The Peace Corps reports that as many as twenty-five nations are interested in starting Peace Corps programs where none currently exist; many of these nations are in the Muslim world.  The Peace Corps also confirms that there are real opportunities to expand programs where ones already exist.  We believe it is in our foreign policy and national security interest to pursue these opportunities and responsibly expand the global presence of the Peace Corps.  

You may know that President Obama recently announced his intent to name Aaron Williams as the Peace Corps director.  Mr. Williams, who reached the rank of career minister in the Senior Foreign Service, is a serious and trusted leader with development experience all over the world that spans 25 years.  He is the serious leader we need who knows how to build and manage international initiatives of substantial size, and now he is almost at the helm of our bold new Peace Corps.  He is someone that can bring in the necessary reforms, upgrade the antiquated systems, and implement creative strategies for robust growth into the 25 countries that are asking for Peace Corps today.  He is a former volunteer who lived and volunteered in the Dominican Republic for three years as a young man.  He is someone that cares about the Peace Corps in a deep and profound way because that is where his love of international service was born.  He is someone that can bring in the right team to revitalize the Peace Corps and reaffirm its important purpose.  The added resources will be in trusted hands.
 
At a time when global attitudes about the United States remain fragile, the Peace Corps continues to be one of the best people-to-people diplomacy and development programs we offer to extend a hand of friendship to ordinary people around the world and exhibit the positive character and morals of Americans.
 
Today, the 7,876 volunteers serving in the Peace Corps are part of a proud and rich history of global service.  These humble and selfless citizens represent us in over 70 countries – including many nations with predominantly Muslim populations.  Over 195,000 U.S. citizens have answered the call to serve since the Peace Corps was created in 1961, and it is our hope that with robust funding, many more can serve in, and be served by, this vital program.  An often neglected aspect of Peace Corps is that volunteers return to the United States and continue as volunteer leaders back home.  Greater resources are needed to support initiatives by former volunteers to share their experience in schools and communities here in the United States.
 
Thank you so much.  I would be so grateful if you could co-sponsor s. 1382 and pitch in your vote for $450 million when this issue comes to conference.  Finally, I would like to stress that $450 million is fully $100 million less than what President Obama’s transition team recommended for the Peace Corps in 2010.

Respectfully,
NAME
PEACE CORPS YEARS (IF RPCV)
ADDRESS
PHONE, EMAIL
TITLE(S)
Join us in our push for $450 Million

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