Right after Labor Day, Congress returned to Capitol Hill following its weeks-long summer recess.
A heavy agenda with a number of controversial matters are in store for members of the House and Senate.
What’s next for matters pertaining to the Peace Corps? And how can you help?
Peace Corps Funding:
The annual appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 2026) spending is virtually certain to – as has been the case for many years – be incomplete when the new federal fiscal year begins on October 1st. Work in September has been further complicated by the Trump administration’s proposal to make further, deeper cuts in funding already appropriated for the current fiscal year through a so-called “pocket rescissions” package. While much of this proposed pull back of funding seriously impacts a number of international affairs programs, funding for the Peace Corps does not appear to be targeted. This proposal is facing some pushback in Congress.
National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) will be monitoring next developments related to the Peace Corps. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet put forward its FY 2026 recommendations for the State/Foreign Operations appropriations bill, which includes a line item for the Peace Corps.
The House of Representatives has already completed its work at the committee level, with a recommendation of reducing Peace Corps funding from the current $430 million to $410 million. The next step there would be to bring this international spending package to a full House for a vote. We will be on the lookout for amendments related to the Peace Corps. Last year, the House unanimously voted to restore a similar proposed cut in Peace Corps funding. The year before that, House members voted against an amendment to make deeper cuts to Peace Corps funding.
What You Can Do: Please visit NPCA’s Action Center and urge your members of Congress to support no less than the president’s request for level Peace Corps funding. This is especially important if your Senator(s) are members of the Appropriations Committee.
ALSO: Domestic service programs are seriously threatened. Use this link to write members of Congress to support AmeriCorps programs, which are facing a more than 50 percent funding cut in the House of Representatives.
Congressional Gold Medal:
Citizen lobbying still makes a difference! That was demonstrated following NPCA’s July 21st Capitol Hill Advocacy Day. Along with funding for the Peace Corps, our advocates urged support, introduction, and passage of legislation that would recognize the service of past and present Peace Corps Volunteers with a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor issued by the United States Congress.
Now, as Congress returns to Washington, there is significant momentum in getting this legislation introduced. In the House, Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) has drafted legislation and is circulating it among several Republican members who have expressed interest in helping to lead a bi-partisan effort on the bill. We believe there is a good chance this legislation will be introduced in the next few weeks.
In the Senate, positive conversations with a number of lawmakers – Republicans and Democrats – have increased following meetings with RPCV constituents. While legislation is not yet imminent, there is growing progress.
What You Can Do: Please visit NPCA’s Action Center and write to lawmakers, preparing them to support Congressional Gold Medal legislation once it is introduced.
ALSO: Contact us at [email protected] if you can help by joining our Congressional Gold Member Working Group.
Peace Corps Director:
At this time, the president has not put forth a nomination for the next Peace Corps Director. In August, the administration did announce a change in Peace Corps leadership, appointing other members of recent Peace Corps staff to leadership positions.
In the recent past, this is not unusual. During President Trump’s first term, he did not nominate Jody Olsen to serve as his Peace Corps Director until January of his second year. And, while Carol Spahn was appointed to temporarily lead the Peace Corps early in the Biden administration, she was not officially nominated to serve as director until April of President Biden’s second year.
NPCA will continue to monitor and update our community on this situation.
What Else Can You Do?
We continue to urge our advocates to take action in a variety of ways, including:
- Pursuing meetings with lawmakers and/or staff at their district offices.
- Working with NPCA to submit op-eds, letters-to-the-editors, or other media efforts during key Peace Corps dates in September or October.
- Taking the lead in organizing a rally (of any size) during September 21st (International Day of Peace) and/or September 22nd (64th anniversary of the signing of the Peace Corps Act into law).
Fill out this form to share your plans so we can add it to our national tracking map.
ALSO: Fill out this form if you want to receive regular updates on NPCA advocacy activities, including invitations to regular virtual updates.