Background

On June 25, 2009, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009. Senator Dodd is a returned Peace Corps volunteer who served in the Dominican Republic.

The bill combines a reform and growth strategy for the Peace Corps. The bill increases funding in order to achieve the goal of doubling the size of a reformed, streamlined and more effective Peace Corps. It requires the Peace Corps to engage in a strategic assessment of all aspects of its current operations, from volunteer recruiting, training and management, to the distribution of volunteers throughout the world. Based on this assessment, the Peace Corps is required to create a one-year and five-year strategic plan in order to reform, modernize and grow the agency.

Read the full legislation here

Learn More

Watch the videos of Senator Dodd introducing the bill: