Peace Corps Polyglot

Legislation Would Boost Peace Corps Voter Accessibility

Legislation introduced in the U.S. Congress aims to strengthen oversight of the overseas voting process in order to alleviate numerous obstacles facing U.S. military personnel and civilians who are living overseas.

The "Fixing the Federal Voting Assistance Program Act of 2009" was introduced earlier this year by RPCV Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) who stated in a press release "It's troubling that Americans abroad, from the men and women in our armed forces to business professionals to Peace Corps volunteers cannot exercise their right to vote."

While there have been attempts to reform overseas voting in the past, citizens not residing in the United States continue to face obstacles when trying to cast their ballot. 

According to the Pew Center on the States, nearly 28% of overseas ballots from the 2008 election were returned, lost or rejected.  Citizens residing overseas must surpass many hurdles in order to have their ballot counted including battling with mediocre ballot delivery methods and dealing with overly stringent and outdated state voting laws.

The legislation would create an oversight board, the Federal Voting Assistance Office, which would monitor the overseas voting process.  This board would report annually to Congress on improvements to the process.  Congressman Honda notes "As a former Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador, I know how difficult it is for overseas Americans to cast a meaningful ballot.  The statistics are daunting and unforgivable."

10,000 Voices and Growing!

Thanks to the many of you who have already signed the MorePeaceCorps petition to President-elect Barack Obama. If you have not signed the petition, please sign it today.If you’ve already signed, reach out to 10, 20 or 50 other people you know.  Next stop: 15,000 signatures!

Among the first to sign were a bipartisan group of former Peace Corps Directors, including Carol Bellamy (“let me add my congratulations on your election and appreciation for your commitment to continue and strengthen the Peace Corps”) and Nicholas Craw  (“Now is the time for a bigger, better and bolder Peace Corps since it is imperative to restore U.S. standing in the world and the Peace Corps - as one of our best-proven forms of “smart power” - is perhaps one of the best means for accomplishing that.”)

Since then, thousands of people have joined in, providing comments that truly speaks to power of the Peace Corps experience. Below are some examples of the petition comments:

“Serving in the Peace Corps gave me a greater appreciation for other cultures, religions, and for our own great nation.”

Claire DeLeo, Boulder, CO

“Peace Corps has been a guiding light in our lives.  Now, our eldest son is PC staff and our youngest daughter is considering volunteering."Diana Capman Dolan, Santa Monica, CA "To restore America's image abroad and expand horizons of U.S. citizens, an expansion of the Peace Corps is needed."

Robert C. Holmes, Pennington, NJ

“As a current Peace Corps volunteer in the Middle East, I have seen first hand the benefits the Peace Corps can have not only on a global scale but on the home front as well. I believe Peace Corps is one of the United States' most effective and hands-on foreign policy tools.”

Bobbie Zerfas, Dorr, MI

“We have a chance at peace if we can all see ourselves as citizens of the world rather than citizens of a particular country. The Peace Corps can help us achieve that goal.” Bonnie Benbow, Yardley,PA This is the Greatest experience for our young people. You let people know who we are and bring back a greater appreciation for what we are."

Joseph Mahood, (Aragon High School) San Mateo, CA

"From a former Volunteer in Colombia, during Kennedy's era - it was an invaluable experience, with my gaining more than I gave. At 64, I would consider it again.”

Nana Royer, St. Augustine, FL

“I was just sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kazakhstan. I cannot tell you how important the last three months of training have been in my understanding of the world. The Peace Corps as an organization is one of the most beneficial groups I have participated in. I would love to see it grow substantially because we all just genuinely want to help others.”

Corinne Leigh Huber, Virginia Beach

Continue to share your inspiring comments so that we can share the importance of Peace Corps to President-elect Obama, his transition team and the new Congress.

Peace Corps Director Selection

People are starting to inquire about the selection process and input for the Peace Corps Director to be nominated by President-elect Obama.  At its meeting on December 8, the NPCA Board of Directors will review a set of principles around the experiences and skill sets of any Peace Corps Director to share with the transition team, which has not yet been designated.  Once finalized, we will share the principles on our website.

Peace Corps and the Inaugural Parade

We've gotten phone calls.  We've gotten e-mails.  Everyone is asking us:  Will the Peace Corps community take part in this historic inaugural parade?

NPCA and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, D.C. (RPCVw) have submitted a joint application to the Presidential Inauguration Committee to represent the Peace Corps community in the inaugural parade.
 
If our group is chosen to participate, about 300 marchers will be selected by a lottery system.  Members of NPCA will be able to submit their names in the lottery from December 10-20, 2008.
 
Regardless of whether or not we are chosen to march, RPCVw plans to assign special "viewing areas" for RPCVs who want to watch the parade together. The RPCVw website will publish these details in January.

We're as excited as you are for this opportunity, so stay tuned for updates!

For more information on what we know right now, visit our 2009 Presidential Inauguration page.

NPCA Board Member on Foreign Assistance Transition Team

For past two weeks, all eyes have been on President-elect Obama's transition team.

We're proud to share the news that NPCA Board member Aaron Williams (Dominican Republic 67-70) has been named, along with Gayle Smith, as a leader of the Foreign Assistance Agency Review Team.  As a leader of this agency-specific review team, Williams will be responsible for reviewing USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and giving strategic policy, budgetary, and personnel information prior to the inauguration.  (Read more about the Agency Review Teams here.)

Williams has over 25 years of experience in policy formulation, strategic planning, and the design and implementation of development assistance program and has directed a broad range of development assistance programs in the areas of economic policy development and economic growth, trade and investment promotion, banking and finance, democracy and governance, education, housing and urban development, and public health. We know his expertise will be of great benefit to the incoming administration. (Read Williams' full bio)

There are also other RPCVs are also working on the transition:  Vicki Huddleston (Peru 64-66) at the Dept. of State and Jon Weintraub (Barbados 67-69) at the Dept. of Education.

 

Create a Bigger, Better, Bolder Peace Corps? Yes We Can!

The Presidential campaign of 2008 brought national service, and in particular the Peace Corps, to center stage.  Both candidates advocated a stronger and bigger Peace Corps for a better and more diplomatic America.  We knew that whichever candidate won there would be big promises and bigger grassroots efforts to make the Peace Corps a priority.

We're happy to say that President-elect Barack Obama made some exciting promises about the future of the Peace Corps.  Throughout his campaign he showed a commitment to making national service a priority and in an article written for Worldview Magazine he outlined his plans for the future of the Peace Corps. 

Obama said that an integral part of his plan for expanding national service in this country is to grow the Peace Corps.  Noting President Kennedy's hope that the Peace Corps would eventually have 100,000 volunteers, Obama says he will "call on our greatest resource--our people" to increase the size of the Corps.  He says in no unclear terms "We will double the size of the Peace Corps by its 50th anniversary in 2011." 

But his agenda isn't just about expanding the size of the Corps, it's also about expanding its possibilities.  "We'll reach out to other nations to engage their young people in similar programs, so that we work side by side to take on common challenges that confront all humanity," he said.  Additionally, he mentions that initiatives to recruit Volunteers over 50 in addition to the expansion of the Peace Corps will "open new opportunities for service to young and old, and help move America closer to the day when voluntary service... becomes the common expectation and experience of all Americans."

And Obama encourages us that his promises to Peace Corps are more than just rhetoric.  "This will not be a call issued in one speech or one program," he said, "this will be an important and enduring commitment of my presidency." 

We applaud this commitment and encourage you all to get involved in reminding Obama of his promises. The MorePeaceCorps campaign has created a petition for you to sign, asking Obama to act on his promises to the Peace Corps.  Tell your friends about this effort and ask them to sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/morepc/ 

Election Brings RPCV Changes on Capitol Hill

RPCV Congressman Chris Shays was defeated last night in his re-election bid.

Shays, a Fiji volunteer who represented southwestern Connecticut for more than twenty years, was defeated by newcomer Jim Himes.

While Congressman Shays was defeated and fellow RPCV Jim Walsh is retiring, one newcomer to Congress has Peace Corps connections.

In Cincinnati, Senegal RPCV Steve Driehaus defeated incumbent Congressman Steve Chabot to win a closely contested race.  Two other RPCV challengers, Costa Rica RPCV Michael Skelly (Texas) and Kenya RPCV Hank Eng (Colorado) were defeated.

Driehaus will join three incumbent RPCVs in the House of Representatives.  Colombia RPCV Sam Farr (California), El Salvador RPCV Mike Honda (California) and Somalia RPCV Tom Petri (Wisconsin) were easily elected last evening.

Peace Corps Mention in Third Debate

Once more, Peace Corps merited a mention in a presidential debate! Last night (October 15), during the third debate with Republican nominee Sen. John McCain,Democratic nominee Barack Obama mentioned Peace Corps in the context of answering a question about education.  Here's the excerpt:

SCHIEFFER: Let's stop there, because I want to get in a question on education and I'm afraid this is going to have to be our last question, gentlemen.

The question is this: the U.S. spends more per capita than any other country on education. Yet, by every international measurement, in math and science competence, from kindergarten through the 12th grade, we trail most of the countries of the world.

The implications of this are clearly obvious. Some even say it poses a threat to our national security.

Do you feel that way and what do you intend to do about it?

The question to Senator Obama first.

OBAMA: ... I think it's important for us to make college affordable. Right now, I meet young people all across the country who either have decided not to go to college or if they're going to college, they are taking on $20,000, $30,000, $50,000, $60,000 worth of debt, and it's very difficult for them to go into some fields, like basic research in science, for example, thinking to themselves that they're going to have a mortgage before they even buy a house.

And that's why I've proposed a $4,000 tuition credit, every student, every year, in exchange for some form of community service, whether it's military service, whether it's Peace Corps, whether it's working in a community.

If we do those things, then I believe that we can create a better school system.

In Case You Missed It: Peace Corps and the Second Presidential Debate

Excerpt from 2nd Presidential Debate, Nashville TN, 10-7-08

Brokaw:  Senator McCain, for you, we have our first question from the Internet tonight. A child of the Depression, 78-year-old Fiora from Chicago.

"Since World War II, we have never been asked to sacrifice anything to help our country, except the blood of our heroic men and women.   As president, what sacrifices -- sacrifices will you ask every American to make to help restore the American dream and to get out of the economic morass that we're now in?"   

McCain:  Well, Fiora, I'm going to ask the American people to understand that there are some programs that we may have to eliminate.   [Sen. McCain continued on this theme.   No specific mention was made of "service."]

Obama:    A lot of you remember the tragedy of 9/11 and where you were on that day and, you know, how all of the country was ready to come together and make enormous changes to make us not only safer, but to make us a better country and a more unified country. 

And President Bush did some smart things at the outset, but one of the opportunities that was missed was, when he spoke to the American people, he said, "Go out and shop."

That wasn't the kind of call to service that I think the American people were looking for.

And so it's important to understand that the -- I think the American people are hungry for the kind of leadership that is going to tackle these problems not just in government, but outside of government.

And let's take the example of energy, which we already spoke about. There is going to be the need for each and every one of us to start thinking about how we use energy.  . . .   weatherize your home or make your business more fuel efficient.  And that's going to require effort from each and every one of us.

And the last point I just want to make. The young people of America are especially interested in how they can serve, and that's one of the reasons why I'm interested in doubling the Peace Corps, making sure that we are creating a volunteer corps all across this country that can be involved in their community, involved in military service, so that military families and our troops are not the only ones bearing the burden of renewing America.

Getting In the Vote

Everyone agrees that this year's election is going to have unprecedented turnout.  But what about those who are voting from abroad?  The process for voting from overseas can be complicated and time-consuming, but it doesn't have to be.  Here are some resources that can help you get your voice heard from anywhere in the world:

Overseas Vote Foundation: The OVF is non-partisan nonprofit organization whose goal is to help overseas voters participate in federal elections.  The organization, which is not affiliated with either the U.S. government or U.S. military, offers services on its website that are state-specific including:

• registering to vote
• requesting a ballot 
• offering the federal write-in ballot
• a voter "help desk" with answers to hundreds of FAQs

Federal Voting Assistance Program: A government-run website that offers forms, resources and information for U.S. citizens overseas and their families.  The site includes some instructions and a useful FAQs section.  PCVs should use the "Uniformed Services Members" option when looking for forms and information.

VoteFromAbroad.org: This site helps you apply for your overseas absentee ballot in five steps.  The website is owned and operated by Democrats Abroad.* The website, which is in both in both English and Spanish, guides you through the overseas voting process from start to finish.   

The Office of your Secretary of State: Almost every state (except for Alaska, Hawaii and Utah) has a Secretary of State who is the chief officer of elections.  While their responsibilities vary from state-to-state, nearly all of the secretaries of the states have information about voting and elections on their websites.  Click here for a state-by-state list of Secretary of States' websites and the offices' phone numbers.

Getting your vote in is important from wherever you are.  So make use of any one of these sources and ensure your voice is heard in this year's election.

Voting from inside the States? 
Check out:  Go Vote Absentee: a straightforward, easy-to-use website that allows you to download absentee ballot request forms from any zipcode.  It also offers step-by-step instructions on how to fill out the forms, what to do once you've gotten and filled out your the ballot, and how to get in touch with your town clerk to confirm that your ballot was received.

*Democrats Abroad is an official Democratic Party organization with the goal of spreading the Democratic message to Americans abroad and encouraging them to vote for Democratic candidates.  Attempts to find a similar overseas voting resource with Republican affiliation were unsuccessful.