In face of the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the United States Senate are expressing strong long-term support for the operation and eventual re-deployment of Peace Corps Volunteers.
A record 42 Senators signed an annual “Dear Colleague” letter circulated by Susan Collins (R-ME) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) asking for robust funding for Peace Corps in the next fiscal year (FY 2021) which will commence on October 1st.
Written to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations on March 3rd, the letter refers to Peace Corps as “an iconic and vibrant part of the American identity.” You can read the full text of the Senate letter here.
“Never has this annual Senate letter been more important than this year,” said National Peace Corps Association President and CEO Glenn Blumhorst. “Senators Collins and Feinstein have demonstrated wonderful bi-partisan leadership in advancing this letter, and the record number of Senate signatures indicates the strong commitment to return Peace Corps Volunteers to service at the earliest time possible.”
Coupled with a similarly strong and bi-partisan letter circulated last month in the House of Representatives (signed by 167 members), approximately 40% of Congress signed these letters.
Thank Your Senators
- Refer to the list below to see if your Senator(s) are among the 42 who signed the Collins-Feinstein Peace Corps funding letter.
- Write, edit, personalize and thank your Senator(s) for signing this important letter.
- Find the phone number of your Senators if you want to contact them by phone.
Senators who signed the Feinstein-Collins Peace Corps Funding Dear Colleague Letter (List of Current Signers Below)
Arizona: Sinema
California: Feinstein (co-author), Harris
Connecticut: Blumenthal, Murphy
Colorado: Bennet
Delaware: Carper, Coons
Hawaii: Hirono, Schatz
Illinois: Duckworth, Durbin
Maine: Collins (co-author), King
Maryland: Cardin, Van Hollen
Massachusetts: Markey, Warren
Michigan: Peters, Stabenow
Minnesota: Klobuchar, Smith
Nevada: Rosen
New Hampshire: Hassan, Shaheen
New Jersey: Booker, Menendez
New Mexico: Heinrich, Udall
New York: Gillibrand
North Carolina: Tillis
Ohio: Brown
Oregon: Merkley, Wyden
Rhode Island: Reed, Whitehouse
Vermont: Sanders
Virginia: Kaine, Warner
Washington: Cantwell
West Virginia: Manchin
Wisconsin: Baldwin