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Title II — Peace Corps oversight and accountability

S. 2286 · 115th Congress · Mar 14, 2018 · Lineage

II Peace Corps oversight and accountability

Sec. 201 Peace Corps volunteer access to Inspector General

Section 8 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2507) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a), by striking “he” and inserting “the President”; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:

“(c) Availability of the Office of Inspector General

“(1) Training requirement—As part of the training provided to all volunteers under subsection (a), and in coordination with the Inspector General of the Peace Corps, the President shall provide all volunteers with—

“(A) information regarding the mandate of the Inspector General and the availability of the Inspector General as a resource for volunteers;

“(B) the contact information of the Inspector General;

“(C) information regarding the mandate of the Office of Victim Advocacy and the availability of the Office of Victim Advocacy as a resource for volunteers; and

“(D) the contact information of the Office of Victim Advocacy.

“(2) Frequency of training—The President shall ensure that volunteers receive the information described in paragraph (1) not less frequently than—

“(A) once during pre-enrollment training; and

“(B) once during each significant training provided by the Peace Corps to volunteers after enrollment.”

Sec. 202 Consultation with Congress required before opening or closing overseas offices and country programs

The Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 10 (22 U.S.C. 2509) the following:

“10A. Consultation with Congress required before opening or closing overseas offices and country programs

“(a) In general—Except as provided in subsection (b), the Director of the Peace Corps may not open, close, significantly reduce, or suspend a domestic or overseas office or country program unless the Director has notified and consulted with the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.

“(b) Waiver—The Director may waive the application of subsection (a) if an action described in such subsection is necessary to ameliorate a substantial security risk to Peace Corps volunteers or other Peace Corps personnel.”

Sec. 203 Publication requirement for volunteer surveys

Section 8E of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2507e) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (b), by inserting after the first sentence the following: “The President shall ensure that each performance plan established under this subsection for a Peace Corps representative includes a consideration of the results, with respect to such representative and the country of service of such representative, of each survey conducted under subsection (c).”; and
(2)
in subsection (c)—
(A)
in the first sentence, by striking “2018” and inserting “2023”; and
(B)
by adding at the end the following: “The President shall publish, on a publicly available website of the Peace Corps, a report summarizing the results of each survey related to volunteer satisfaction in each country in which volunteers serve, and the early termination rate of volunteers serving in each such country. The information published shall be posted in an easily accessible place near the description of the appropriate country and shall be written in an easily understood manner.”.