Mr. VAUGHN. We don't detect any effect with regard to the draft, although there could be an effect someplace that we can't measure. The number of applications that we have received-will have received by the end of this program year, which is the end of next month— should be slightly above 42,000.

This is virtually the same as the total number received in the prior program year. However, we find there is a much higher percentage of what we call prime candidates. So we are getting a higher number of applications from people who are qualified to serve in the Peace Corps.

Mr. MONAGAN. What has been the trend of applications numerically? Has there been a gradual decline in that?

Mr. VAUGHN. The peak was in

Mr. MONAGAN. You can supply that for the record.

Mr. VAUGHN. The peak was in 1964. It has been holding at about that since 1964.

(The information follows:)

Peace Corps applications, acceptances, and invitations by program year

Mr. MONAGAN. What is the average age of the Peace Corps. Volunteer?

Mr. VAUGHN. Between 24 and 25.

Mr. MONAGAN. The one that is actually serving?

Mr. VAUGHN. Yes; it has declined a bit in the last couple of years. Mr. MONAGAN. Where would you expect the majority of the people would come from under this exchange volunteer program?

Mr. VAUGHN. What countries would they come from?

Mr. MONAGAN. Yes.

Mr. VAUGHN. There have been 17, Congressman, that have indicated interest in providing exchange volunteers. I think if this were to go into effect there would be 30 to 40 countries that would be interested.

Mr. MONAGAN. Could you tell us the first two or three countries that would appear to be the ones who would supply the major portion? Mr. VAUGHN. Argentina, Venezuela, Panama, Nigeria, Malaysia, Ethiopia, Israel.

Mr. MONAGAN. Where would they go in this country?

Mr. VAUGHN. This would be done on the same basis as we place Peace Corps volunteers. That is, they would go where they were wanted and requested. Then we would help in trying to match up the skill with the request.

Mr. MONAGAN. They would work with social agencies, health organizations and youth groups?

Mr. VAUGHN. And educational institutions primarily.

Mr. MONAGAN. Thank you.

Chairman MORGAN. Mr. Fulton.

Mr. FULTON. I believe you have a good statement, and I compliment the Peace Corps on its good work.

I believe you ought to put in the record what are the advantages of this International Secretariat and what they have accomplished. This hasn't been specifically set out.

(The information follows:)

STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD CONCERNING THE INTERESTS OF THE UNITED STATES IN SUPPORTING ISVS

The major function of ISVS is collecting, collating and distributing information about voluntary service programs. In three years, ISVS has prepared and distributed program descriptions about 16 organizations which send volunteers to other countries and about more than 30 domestic volunteer programs. ISVS also publishes a monthly newsletter, the "International Volunteer", which provides information to 16,000 readers, ranging from volunteers to government officials. A number of technical studies, on subjects such as selection, training techniques, recruiting methods and community development have been written for ISVS by specialists in the fields. Finally, more than a dozen seminars, con ferences and study groups have been held in Europe, Latin America, Asia and the United States to bring leaders of volunteer programs together with experts from the private sector to exchange information and ideas.

In this clearinghouse capacity, ISVS serves as a useful resource to the United States, as well as to other Council members. As volunteers from other countries serve in 101 areas, covering virtually every country in which the Peace Corps operates, this information has been of great assistance.

To a lesser extent, ISVS provides limited technical assistance to voluntary organizations. The need and demand for such assistance are substantial and beyond the current resources available from any one source to meet.

Requests for technical assistance received by ISVS are in all instances referred by ISVS to the United States and its other member countries. Only those requests which the member countries decide not to carry out on a bilateral basis are carried out by ISVS. This procedure, which is required by the ISVS Charter, also ensures that there is no duplication between bilateral and multilateral technical assistance in this area.

U.S. participation in ISVS enables the United States to help provide technical assistance to countries where the provision of such assistance is in the United States' interest, but where bilateral provision of such assistance may not be possible. At the same time, it gives the requesting country a choice between multilateral and bilateral assistance, a flexibility which may be important for it. Participation in ISVS also enables the United States to encourage other coun tries with resources and experience in the voluntary service field to render technical assistance to meet the rising needs.

Mr. FULTON. On page 15 of the statement I think it should be emphasized that "Third, the program would involve far more financial and substantive participation by sending countries than is the case in current exchanges." So this is again monetarily helpful to the U.S. budget by having this program instituted, is that not right?

The point is that the participating countries are going to take their share of the monetary expenses, and the answer is "Yes." On page 15 the statement states, foreign countries are going to help; they are going to take more financial participation; is that not right?

Mr. VAUGHN. Yes, sir.

Mr. FULTON. On the type of exchange, the present exchange programs, as your statement points out on page 15, refer mostly to teachers, and these have emphasized teachers. These new people will be working with social agencies, and so on. Isn't that quite a difference between the other exchange programs that this country is engaged in?

Mr. VAUGHN. Indeed, sir. Also we would plan that even those who were professional teachers would become involved in this kind of activity on a part-time basis, vacation periods, weekends as our Peace Corps people do. We think this is the most important aspect of service.

Mr. FULTON. I believe if you will obtain certain U.S. people and organizations in U.S. communities who are interested in this type of service, that your organization can get very much volunteer help privately in this country from people in the professions, businesses, and areas of that type. For example, I am in the suburban newspaper business around Pittsburgh and we would be very glad to have some trainees to develop this new field in other countries.

Our newspapers now do a lot of training of young people. I am
sure that others would do likewise in this new field, would participate.
My final comment is on your statement comment about making
sure the exchange people all return. I am of a much different disposi-
tion because I want people to progress the best they can and I want our
country to progress, so I would like to take the cream of every country
and have them come here and stay. I would welcome highly moti-
vated immigrants thoroughly. I would disagree with the strong
statement on making exchangees go back and stay permanently.
I would have these exchangees go back, but if they wanted to come
later on in 2 or 3 years, I certainly would be a person who would
welcome them as a tremendous gain to our country and progress for
the people of the world as a whole.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.
Chairman MORGAN. Mr. Fraser.

Mr. FRASER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Vaughn, I am impressed with the potential of the exchange volunteer program. I hope you are able to work out the administrative side of it so that you meet some of these questions that are being raised here. I would like to turn, if I may, to a different subject that interests me a great deal.

The President, some time back, I think at the time-in any event, some time back-talked about sending to India large numbers of Peace Corps volunteers to work at agricultural and rural development. This raises, of course, the question of where you find skilled peoplethose who have special skills as against those who have only a general education.

What are your plans with respect to finding people that have some of the skills required in agricultural development?

Mr. VAUGHN. I hope I don't give you the impression of being defeatist. In a sense you can see from the way we have moved in the past year that we recognize we can't get sufficient numbers. We have gone throughout our agricultural States in every conceivable way to try to find professionally qualified agricultural people. We haven't found many of them.

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We especially haven't found enough of them to meet the new need everywhere. To cope and compensate for this deficiency we have decided to make sure we have in our agricultural projects some agricultural expertise so that when what we call the AB generalist, who is trained intensively in a skill, say, poultry, is working at the peasant's elbow and has special problems, such as disease, he has access to another volunteer, or a professional under contract with us who can solve this problem. It is for this reason that we have decided to negotiate a contract with David Lilienthal's organization to provide the high level of technical support needed by our 800 or 900 volunteers working in agriculture in India.

At the next lower level we will have several dozen, maybe 100, volunteers who have degrees and long experience in agriculture. They will be working with 800 or 900 volunteers who have had only what they have learned during the Peace Corps training period. This is why training costs us more today, because we build in more skills for the AB generalist and train him for a longer period of time.

It is also why some of our overseas operations cost more, bec use we contract with professional organizations to provide this high-level expertise across the board.

Mr. FRASER. Is it required that you contract for it? In some cases I suppose AID is in a position to provide this.

Mr. VAUGHN. As you know, from the beginning we have claimed to be a scrounging kind of operation. And we get technology wherever we can find it. I know personally of dozens of AID technicans who spend a lot of their time providing technical support to volunteers. Mr. FRASER. Is the solution that you are finding to this problem enough, adequate? I have the distinct impression that the problem of rural development and agricultural development is not only the No. 1 problem in the world, because this is where many of the political problems are as well, but that one of the best answers is to have this kind of manpower available. There is something more needed than the professional people who work to set up an agricultural extension service which is important, but in terms of the timetable we think we have, we have to do much more than that and I wondered how successful this India program is.

In my judgment we need something on the order of the Manhattan project in terms of rural development.

Mr. VAUGHN. I could tell you about some cases where the Peace Corps presence has been able to extend agricultural know-how. For example, in Thailand and Malaysia AID projects had been pretty much pilot demonstrations until there were Peace Corps volunteers on the scene to extend this and go out into the villages and make it work, I don't say 1,000 volunteers in India will solve their agricultural deficiency. It may be a start.

Mr. FRASER. What about the general problem of getting more skilled manpower in the field to work as volunteers other than rural development?

Mr. VAUGHN. Of finding more technically qualified volunteers? Mr. FRASER. You have talked about the need for more staffing. I have seen that conclusion stated elsewhere. But a part of this, of course, is the need for supporting work in technical fields; is that right? Mr. VAUGHN. Yes; it is.

Mr. FRASER. Are you left to a scrounging operation or are you going to get the kind of staffing from the technical point of view that is really required?

Mr. VAUGHN. We have moved very strongly in the last year in that regard and have signed several dozen contracts for technical support. overseas, mainly with universities. In addition to our regular Peace Corps staff overseas we have contractors overseas who are high-level teachers, agronomists, and health people. And we have added over 50 in the last year of this kind of person.

Mr. FRASER. I got the impression it would be useful if there was some kind of long-term career service for a kind of higher level manpower that would provide a technical direction to the kind of projects that could then be supplemented from the manpower that comes from the regular Peace Corps volunteer. You can't do that directly because you have a 5-year limitation. My impression about contracts is that they come and go and while you build up the institutional capability it is not an enduring relationship.

Mr. VAUGHN. That has been my experience certainly in the last 20 years. I think this is what the President is talking about in trying to establish an international health career service. This would benefit us greatly-more than any other agency.

Mr. FRASER. My impression is we are just beginning to move in an effective way in terms of the problem. I would add my commendation for all the good work that I think the Peace Corps is doing, and your direction of it.

Chairman MORGAN. Mr. Cameron.

Mr. CAMERON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I am sorry that our committee is so substantially depleted at this point, Mr. Vaughn. You are now coming down to the end of the table in which you will find general sympathy for the objectives as to the Exchange Peace Corps.

Mr. FULTON. Would you yield?

Mr. CAMERON. You are at our end of the table, too.
Mr. FULTON. I think the quality is being maintained.

Mr. CAMERON. Thank you, sir. We have great confidence in the extremes on both sides in this committee. I think you would do well to adhere, read over carefully the admonitions by various members of this committee and to take into consideration Mr. Fraser's remarks with respect to how you are going to overcome this administrative problem, possibly give consideration to the fact that you can work something out under Hays-Fulbright with modest amendments where you could enter into contracts with them, something of this nature, rather than setting up a separate institution.

It is my understanding, though, that you are primarily interested in this Exchange Peace Corps in people that are qualified more or less in the field of education; is that correct? Wouldn't language be the easiest resource available?

Mr. VAUGHN. Yes, in a sense they would all be teachers.

Mr. CAMERON. It is your feeling as an individual and also in your official capacity as Director, I assume, that the United States would be greatly enriched if we were a bilingual people?

Mr. VAUGHN. Yes.

Mr. CAMERON. It is certainly not your intention, is it, to deplete the teaching resources of any country by having people coming here on a voluntary basis?

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