Peace Corps Mission Accountability Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2320 To make improvements to the conduct of United States foreign policy through a change in the supervision of the Peace Corps and transferring it from the status of ‘‘independent agency’’ to a subordinate agency within the Department of State, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 30, 2019 Mr. SCOTT of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To make improvements to the conduct of United States foreign policy through a change in the supervision of the Peace Corps and transferring it from the status of ‘‘independent agency’’ to a subordinate agency within the Department of State, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Peace Corps Mission 4 Accountability Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2320.IS S2320 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2320 IS (1) According to section 2 of the Peace Corps 1 Act (22 U.S.C. 2501), the Peace Corps, which was 2 established by Congress in 1961, was intended ‘‘to 3 promote world peace and friendship through a Peace 4 Corps, which shall make available to interested coun- 5 tries and areas men and women of the United States 6 qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, 7 under conditions of hardship if necessary, to help 8 the peoples of such countries and areas in meeting 9 their needs for trained manpower, particularly in 10 meeting the basic needs of those living in the poorest 11 areas of such countries, and to help promote a better 12 understanding of the American people on the part of 13 the peoples served and a better understanding of 14 other peoples on the part of the American people.’’. 15 (2) The Peace Corps plays a role in imple- 16 menting aspects of United States foreign policy like 17 any taxpayer funded agency of the executive branch 18 involved in foreign policy. 19 (3) The Peace Corps is not an advisory agency, 20 but implements aspects of United States foreign pol- 21 icy through its personnel, particularly volunteers 22 who serve in foreign countries representing the 23 United States Government’s mission ‘‘to promote 24 world peace and friendship.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2320.IS S2320 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2320 IS (4) Section 2A of the Peace Corps Act (22 1 U.S.C. 2501–1) transferred the Peace Corps from 2 the ACTION Agency and established it as an inde- 3 pendent agency within the executive branch, begin- 4 ning on December 29, 1981. Since that date, execu- 5 tive orders have required the Director of the Peace 6 Corps to report to the President and have given the 7 Secretary of State authority over and responsibility 8 for Peace Corps activities. 9 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 10 gress that— 11 (1) the current position of the Peace Corps as 12 an independent agency in the executive branch 13 charged with implementing aspects of United States 14 foreign policy, while being subject to the Secretary 15 of State’s ‘‘continuous supervision and general direc- 16 tion of the programs . . . to the end that such pro- 17 grams are effectively integrated both at home and 18 abroad and the foreign policy of the United States 19 is best served’’, creates a problem of management 20 detrimental to the foreign policy goals of the United 21 States Government; and 22 (2) since determining in which countries the 23 Peace Corps should work and the volunteers’ activi- 24 ties in those countries are components of United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2320.IS S2320 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2320 IS States foreign policy, the Secretary of State, who is 1 responsible for implementing United States foreign 2 policy, should have direct and clear control over the 3 Peace Corps, including the Director of the Peace 4 Corps, in order to coordinate the Peace Corps’ work 5 with the overall foreign policy goals of the United 6 States Government. 7 SEC. 3. TRANSFER OF PEACE CORPS TO DEPARTMENT OF 8 STATE. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2A of the Peace Corps 10 Act (22 U.S.C. 2501–1) is amended to read as follows: 11 ‘‘SEC. 2A. PEACE CORPS AS SUBORDINATE AGENCY WITHIN 12 THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 13 ‘‘The Peace Corps shall be a subordinate agency 14 within the Department of State.’’. 15 (b) DIRECTOR.—Section 4 of the Peace Corps Act 16 (22 U.S.C. 2503) is amended— 17 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘President’’ 18 and inserting ‘‘Secretary of State’’; 19 (2) in subsection (b)— 20 (A) by striking ‘‘The President may exer- 21 cise any functions vested in him by this Act’’ 22 and inserting ‘‘The Secretary of State may 23 carry out the duties under this Act’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2320.IS S2320 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2320 IS (B) by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the 1 Director’’; 2 (C) by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the 3 Director’s’’; and 4 (D) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘The Director of the Peace Corps shall report 6 directly to the Secretary of State.’’; 7 (3) in subsection (c)— 8 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘The 9 President’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary of 10 State’’; and 11 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Under 12 the direction of the President the Secretary’’ 13 and inserting ‘‘The Secretary’’. 14 (c) BUDGET.—The budget of the Peace Corps shall 15 be incorporated into the overall budget of the Department 16 of State, with the Secretary of State authorized to expend 17 amounts appropriated to the Peace Corps. 18 (d) PEACE CORPS PROGRAMS IN CHINA.—Not later 19 than September 30, 2020, the Peace Corps shall terminate 20 any Peace Corps programs operating in China. 21 (e) PROHIBITION ON PEACE CORPS OPERATIONS IN 22 CERTAIN COUNTRIES.—The Peace Corps may not operate 23 in any country that is hostile to the national security inter- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2320.IS S2320 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2320 IS ests of the United States, as determined by the Secretary 1 of State. 2 (f) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Secretary of State shall 3 submit an annual report to Congress that— 4 (1) describes the programs and placement of 5 Peace Corps volunteers around the world; 6 (2) includes a justification of the placement and 7 presence of Peace Corps volunteers in each country; 8 and 9 (3) describes how such placements and presence 10 furthers the interests of the United States and is not 11 contrary to the national security interests of the 12 United States. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2320.IS S2320 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS