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National Peace Corps Association > News > Advocacy > Final Count on House Letter: 108
Final Count on House Letter: 108
By Jonathan Pearson on Friday, April 22nd, 2011
In March, Sam Farr received NPCA's Congressional Leadership Award
With the help from many NPCA advocates, 108 members of the House of Representatives signed on to a Peace Corps funding letter for Fiscal Year 2012 being circulated by RPCV Congressmen Sam Farr, Mike Honda and John Garamendi.
The letter supports President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2012 Peace Corps funding request of $440 million.
Big, big thanks to everyone who took action in support of this letter!
Follow this link to read the Dear Colleague letter.
House Members Who Signed the Letter:
If your lawmaker appears below, s/he signed the Dear Colleague letter. Seek out these Congressmen/women in your home district during the current congressional recess to tell them how much you appreciate them for signing onto the Fiscal Year 2012 Peace Corps funding letter!
Arizona: Grijalva
California: Becerra, Capps, Chu, Costa, Davis, Eshoo, Farr, Filner, Garamendi, Honda, Lee, Lofgren, Matsui, McNerney, Miller, Napolitano, Richardson, Roybal-Allard, Loretta Sanchez, Speier, Stark, Woolsey
Colorado: DeGette, Perlmutter, Polis
Connecticut: Courtney, DeLauro, Murphy
District of Columbia: Norton
Florida: Brown, Wasserman Schultz
Georgia: Johnson, Lewis
Hawaii: Hanabusa, Hirono
Illinois: Costello, Davis, Gutierrez, Lipinski, Schakowsky
Iowa: Loebsack
Kentucky: Chandler, Yarmuth
Maine: Michaud, Pingree
Maryland: Cummings, Edwards, Sarbanes, Van Hollen
Massachusetts: Frank, Lynch, Markey, McGovern, Neal, Tierney
Michigan: Clarke, Conyers, Levin
Minnesota: Ellison, McCollum
Mississippi: Thompson
Missouri: Carnahan, Cleaver
Nevada: Berkley
New Jersey: Andrews, Holt, Pallone, Payne, Rothman, Sires
New York: Bishop, Clarke, Crowley, Engel, Hinchey, Maloney, McCarthy, Nadler, Serrano, Slaughter, Towns, Velazquez
North Carolina: Butterfield, Price, Watt
Ohio: Ryan, Sutton
Oregon: Blumenauer, DeFazio, Wu
Pennsylvania: Fattah
Rhode Island: Langevin
South Carolina: Clyburn
Tennessee: Cohen
Texas: Doggett, Gonzalez, Jackson Lee
Vermont: Welch
Virginia: Connolly, Moran
Washington: Inslee, McDermott
Wisconsin: Baldwin, Moore
Others: Bordallo (Guam), Faleomavaega (Amer. Samoa), Sablan (CNMI)
Peace Corps is our best investment; nationally as well as Foreign.
I served in the Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa, during the last great Recession (under Ronald Reagan) and gained invaluable experience and a life time commitment to Africa from a very affordable government program. When it comes to tightening the government belt, it seems best to really focus on programs like Peace Corps that are cost-effective and have high impact, both in terms of what volunteers bring to their host countries and in terms of the good will and positive relations that are built for our country in the world. This seems like the perfect unifier of positive people from both parties who have an interest in social justice, in strengthening America’s positive place in the world and increasing the number of Americans with international experience and vision, who then return to their communities in the USA to become community builders back home and bridge builders between nations. Bang for your buck? You betcha!
I am happy to send a thank you to Tammy Baldwin, who does a good job representing my interests as well as the Peace Corps and many other initiatives that help people.
My husband and I finished training as Peace Corps trainees in Niger,were sworn in and became official volunteers then were evacuated from our village along with 96 other PC volunteers in Niger due to safety and security issues. We thing the Peace Corps absolutely did the right thing by ordering evacuation but we hate leaving Niger and would go back if allowed. Now we are headed to Armenia June 1 and will be two of the oldest volunteers (over 65 yrs. old). Peace Corps is an awesome organization and does more for world peace than any other group. The friends we made in Niger, the ideas we exchanges even with minimal tribal language under our belt, the interest of our friends and family back in the US—it is all worth every tax dollar spent. The young volunteers were amazing and gradually more older ones will apply thus sharing youth, enthusiasm and intelligence with maturity, experience and steadfastness to a well thought out choice of serving one’s country in the Peace Corps. Cheers! to those brave supporters of the budget for the Peace Corps. We thank you.
I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea ( West Africa)from 2003-2005, teaching physics in a small town without electricity, nor running water, and a lack of many amenities that any school in the US take for granted.
Besides getting to know another culture , and learning another way of seeing life, this experience confronted me with many internal questions, and helped me to get to know me better.
The Peace Corps service promotes global understanding and tolerance. It just helps a lot for world peace.
I met my husband during my Peace Corps service. He is german, and now we now live in Munich with our 4 year old daughter.
I hope to have the opportunity of serving again as a Peace Corps volunteer with my family, and I would love that my daughter benefits from this experience some day, learning from other cultures.
Thanks for supporting a wonderful programm.