The House of Representatives is scheduled to take up the State/Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (H.R. 3081) today. This bill will set the funding level for the Peace Corps in the next year. President Obama has said over and over during the campaign and since that he supports national volunteer programs. If you have a minute, call or send an email to your Congress Critter to let him or her know that you support the Peace Corps too.
The appropriations bill came from the Senate with an increase in the Peace Corps budget over last year -- enough for a bit of an expansion but not nearly enough to double the size as President Obama promised on the campaign trail. That's ok, he has time left to deliver. But two amendments are being considered today, and you can help by asking your congressman to oppose them both:
Peace Corps Reduction: An amendment by Florida Congressman Cliff Stearns would reduce the amount appropriated in H.R. 3081 for the Peace Corps by $76.5 million, to match the President's request of approximately $373.5 million.
5% Reduction in Discretionary Funding: An amendment by Georgia Congressman Paul Broun would reduce discretionary funding in the bill by 5% (likely impacting a variety of overseas development and assistance programs, including - possibly - Peace Corps).
Send this message: "As the House takes up H.R. 3081, the State/Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, I strongly urge you to oppose the Stearns amendment to reduce funding for the Peace Corps. I also urge you to oppose the Broun amendment to reduce discretionary funding for our foreign assistance programs."
Although Peace Corps volunteers are currently serving in about 70 countries, there are many countries asking for volunteers but there isn't the funding to expand. When President Kennedy proposed the Peace Corps in 1960, young people came in floods. In 1966 there were 15,000 volunteers in the field. Since that time the Peace Corps has dwindled to today, half of that number are in the field. America is wasting one of its best foreign relations/education/development programs that it has.
We can put 8,000 volunteers in communities around the world for less than the cost of a bomber. Think about that.