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CONTENTS

Daniels, Michael P., African Research Foundation..

168

Hostetter, C. N., Jr., chairman, Mennonite Central Committee,
Akron, Pa..-.

158

Schneider, Louis W., associate executive secretary for program,
American Friends Service Committee..

163

Shriver, Hon. Robert Sargent, Jr., Director, Peace Corps, accompanied
by other Peace Corps officials..

13

Snyder, Edward F., legislative secretary, Friends Committee on
National Legislation. -

114

Summerskill, John, representing the American Council on Education
Van Deusen, Rev. Dr. Robert E., Washington secretary, division of
public relations, National Lutheran Council..

156

117

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JII

THE PEACE CORPS

S. 2000

THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1961

UNITED STATES SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS,

Washington, D.C. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:30 a.m., in room 4221, New Senate Office Building, Senator J. W. Fulbright (chairman) presiding.

Present: Senators Fulbright, Humphrey, Gore, Lausche, Church, Symington, Hickenlooper, and Áiken.

EVOLUTION OF PEACE CORPS PROPOSAL

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order.

The mutual security legislation of last year contained a provision recommended by this committee that directed the President to arrange for a study of the advisability and practicability of a point 4 youth corps program, under which young U.S. citizens would be trained to serve abroad in programs of technical cooperation.

This provision was the outgrowth of a proposal sponsored by several Senators, including the late Senator Neuberger, and the present Senator Humphrey.

Arrangements were made for the Colorado State University Research Foundation to undertake the study contemplated, and it submitted a favorable preliminary report in February of this year.

Thereafter, on March 1, the President sent to the Congress a special message in which he announced that he had established by Executive order on that date a Peace Corps on a temporary pilot basis.

In his message, the President also recommended to the Congress the establishment of a permanent Peace Corps. Draft legislation for this purpose was subsequently transmitted to the Senate and introduced by Senator Humphrey and myself on June 1 as S. 2000.

This morning the committee will begin its consideration of S. 2000, which will provide for a Peace Corps to help the people of interested countries and areas in meeting their needs for skilled manpower.

1

(The bill referred to follows:)

[S. 2000, 87th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To provide for a Peace Corps to help the peoples of interested countries and areas in meeting their needs for skilled manpower

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SHORT TITLE

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Peace Corps Act".

DECLARATION OF PURPOSE

SEC. 2. The Congress of the United States declares that it is the policy of the United States and the purpose of this Act to promote world peace and friendship through a Peace Corps, which shall make available to interested countries and areas and to international organizations men and women of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve under conditions of hardship to help the peoples of such countries and areas in meeting their needs for manpower; to provide broader opportunities for men and women of the United States and United States private organizations, through service abroad, to contribute actively to their country's efforts in the cause of world peace and friendship; and through the service abroad of the men and women participating in Peace Corps programs, to promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of the American people and a better understanding of the American people on the part of the peoples served.

AUTHORIZATION

SEC. 3. (a) The President is authorized to carry out programs in furtherance of the purposes of this Act, on such terms and conditions as he may determine. (b) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated to the President for the fiscal year 1962 not to exceed $40,000,000 to carry out the purposes of this Act. (c) Unexpended balances of funds made available pursuant to chapter III of the Mutual Security Act of 1954, as amended, and allocated to the Peace Corps agency established within the Department of State pursuant to Executive Order Numbered 10924, dated March 1, 1961, are hereby authorized to be continued available for the general purposes for which appropriated, and may be consolidated with the appropriation authorized by subsection (b) of this section.

DIRECTOR OF THE PEACE CORPS AND DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS

SEC. 4. (a) The President may appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Director of the Peace Corps, whose compensation shall be fixed by the President at a rate not in excess of $20,000 per annum, and a Deputy Director of the Peace Corps, whose compensation shall be fixed by the President at a rate not in excess of $19,500 per annum.

(b) The President may exercise any functions vested in him by this Act through such agency or officer of the United States Government as he shall direct. The head of any such agency or any such officer may promulgate such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out such functions, and may delegate to any of his subordinates authority to perform any of such functions, including, if he shall so specify, the authority successively to redelegate any of such functions.

PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS

SEC. 5. (a) The President may enroll in the Peace Corps for service abroad qualified citizens and nationals of the United States (referred to in this Act as "volunteers"). The terms and conditions of the enrollment, training, compensation, hours of work, benefits, leave, termination, and all other terms and conditions of the service of volunteers shall be exclusively those set forth in this Act and those consistent therewith which the President may prescribe; and, except as provided in this Act, volunteers shall not be deemed officers or employees or otherwise in the service or employment of the United States for any purpose.

(b) Volunteers shall be provided with such living, travel, and leave allowances, and such housing, transportation, supplies, equipment, subsistence, and clothing as the President may determine to be necessary for their maintenance and to insure their health and their capacity to serve effectively. Transportation and travel allowances may also be provided, in such circumstances as the President may determine, for applicants for enrollment to or from places of required examinations or training and places of enrollment, and for former volunteers from places of termination to their homes in the United States.

(c) Volunteers shall be entitled to receive termination payments at rates fixed by the President based upon the number of months of satisfactory service as determined by the President. The termination payment of each volunteer shall be payable at the termination of his service, or may be paid during the course of his service to the volunteer, to members of his family or to others, under such circumstances as the President may determine. In the event of the volunteer's death during the period of his service, the amount of any unpaid termination payment shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of section 61f of title 5 of the United States Code.

(d) Volunteers shall be deemed to be employees of the United States Government for the purposes of the Federal Employees Compensation Act (39 Stat. 742), as amended: Provided, however, That entitlement to disability compensation payments under that Act shall commence on the day after the date of termination of service. For the purposes of that Act

(1) volunteers shall be deemed to be receiving monthly pay at the lowest rate provided for grade 7 of the general schedule established by the Classification Act of 1949, as amended, and volunteer leaders (referred to in section 6 of this Act) shall be deemed to be receiving monthly pay at the lowest rate provided for grade 11 of such general schedule; and

(2) any injury suffered by a volunteer during any time when he is located abroad shall be deemed to have been sustained while in the performance of his duty and any disease contracted during such time shall be deemed to have been proximately caused by his employment, unless such injury or disease is caused by willful misconduct of the volunteer or by the volunteer's intention to bring about the injury or death of himself or of another, or unless intoxication of the injured volunteer is the proximate cause of the injury or death.

(e) Volunteers shall receive such health care during their service, and such health examinations and immunization preparatory to their service, as the President may deem necessary or appropriate. Under such regulations as the President may prescribe, such health care, examinations, and immunization may be provided for volunteers in any facility of any agency of the United States Government, and in such cases the appropriation for maintaining and operating such facility shall be reimbursed from appropriations available under this Act. (f) (1) Any period of satisfactory service of a volunteer under this Act shall be credited in connection with subsequent employment in the same manner as a like period of civilian employment by the United States Government

(A) for the purposes of the Civil Service Retirement Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 2251, et seq.), section 852 (a) (1) of the Foreign Service Act, as amended (22 U.S.C. 1092 (a) (1)), and every other Act establishing a retirement system for civilian employees of any United States Government agency; and

(B) except as otherwise determined by the President, for the purposes of determining seniority, reduction in force, and layoff rights, leave entitlement, and other rights and privileges based upon length of service under the laws administered by the Civil Service Commission, the Foreign Service Act, and every other Act establishing or governing terms and conditions of service of civilian employees of the United States Government: Provided, That service of a volunteer shall not be credited toward completion of any probationary or trial period or completion of any service requirement for career appointment. Under such conditions as the President may determine, examinations or other prerequisites to employment established by any law administered by the Civil Service Commission may be waived for persons who have completed training under section 8(a) of this Act and have served abroad as volunteers.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection, volunteers and volunteer leaders shall be deemed to be receiving compensation during their service at the rates mentioned in subsection (d) (1) of this section.

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