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Bill would create Peace Corps watchdog

WASHINGTON | The House International Relations Committee passed a bill that would establish an ombudsman for the U.S. Peace Corps and create an independent watchdog for the agency.

The Health, Safety, and Security of Peace Corps Volunteers Act of 2004, sponsored by Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Illinois, and co-sponsored by the committee's ranking minority member, Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif, would create an ombudsman who would respond to safety, medical and other concerns of volunteers and former volunteers.

The bill also would establish an independent inspector general, who would be nominated by the president and approved by the Senate and would submit reports to Congress. Currently the inspector general, who is charged with investigating crimes against volunteers and critiquing the agency's operations, is appointed by and reports to the Peace Corps director.

The legislation, which the committee passed Wednesday, also would waive the Peace Corps' five-year employment limitation for inspector general employees and Peace Corps staff who deal with the safety of volunteers and permanently establish an office of safety.

The bill also requires the Peace Corps to report to Congress about the medical screening of volunteer applicants, an issue raised by Lantos during a hearing last week.

The legislation and hearing followed a Dayton Daily News examination on the safety and security of volunteers.

The newspaper reported in October that the number of reported assaults from 1991-2002 had more than doubled, yet the agency continued to put many volunteers in danger by sending them to live alone in risky areas without adequate housing, supervision or a job that kept them busy. The series also found that the agency omitted many crime victims from its published statistics.

Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez told the International Relations Committee at a hearing in March that safety is the agency's top priority and outlined several measures, including establishing the safety office in 2002, increasing the number of security staff members by 80 and emphasizing safety and cross-cultural training.

More than 7,500 volunteers are serving in more than 70 countries.

Hyde's bill goes to the full House and the Senate. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee had scheduled a hearing for the end of March on the issue of safety and security of volunteers at the request of Ohio Senators George Voinovich and Mike DeWine. However, that hearing has been postponed, and a new date has not been set.

Contact Mei-Ling Hopgood in the Washington bureau at 202-887-8328