“To modernize the Peace Corps by enhancing efficiency and foreign policy alignment, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section requires the Peace Corps Director to limit administrative and other non-volunteer overhead expenses to no more than 15% of the agency's total annual appropriation, directing the remaining at least 85% toward volunteers (including recruitment, training, and support). It further requires any resulting additional amounts to be used to increase the number of Peace Corps volunteers deployed worldwide.
This section directs the Secretary of State, pursuant to existing authority, to prioritize Peace Corps volunteer deployments by country to align with U.S. strategic interests, including countering authoritarian influence, promoting stability, and supporting allies; requires the Director of the Peace Corps to notify Congress before initiating the first program in a new country or terminating all programs in any country; and directs the Director to establish a Peace Corps Strategic Plan aligned, in coordination with the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, with the Department of State's Integrated Country Strategies. This section further requires Peace Corps programs to operate in at least five Pacific Island countries, including Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (notwithstanding the prioritization and notification requirements), and requires the Secretary of State and Director to brief specified congressional committees within 90 days of enactment on expansion plans, including countries expressing interest, barriers, resources needed, and coordination opportunities with other agencies (e.g., Department of Defense).
This section directs the Director of the Peace Corps, in coordination with relevant U.S. ambassadors and chiefs of mission, to ensure that U.S. embassies (or equivalent diplomatic or consular posts) support and integrate country-level Peace Corps operations. It further requires the Director, upon notice from the Secretary of State of a regional bureau's or embassy's withdrawal of support for a Peace Corps program in a country, to pause the program and notify Congress of the determination and pause.
This section directs the Secretary of State, acting through the Director General of the Foreign Service, to establish by regulation, not later than 180 days after enactment, a streamlined vetting and application pathway exclusively for returning and former Peace Corps volunteers seeking Foreign Service appointments. The pathway (1) creates mentorship programs pairing such applicants with current Foreign Service officers; (2) awards bonus evaluation points for Peace Corps service on the Qualifications Evaluation Panel and Oral Assessment, equivalent to the veterans preference under current law (22 U.S.C. 3941(c)); and (3) for volunteers receiving career appointments, treats Peace Corps service as Foreign Service service for all benefits (including retirement) and term-of-service requirements (e.g., the nine-year requirement for mid-level entry). (Thus, such volunteers receive credit toward Foreign Service tenure for pay, benefits, and promotions.)