Ninth Inning. Two outs. Bases Loaded

Thanks to you, we won in the early innings getting a full $450 million authorization in the crucial House Subcommittee. Thanks to you, we won in the middle innings getting the entire House Subcommittee – all Republicans and all Democrats – to vote the full $450 million appropriation to build the bold, new Peace Corps.

Now it’s the final inning in the Senate Subcommittee for State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs. On July 7th, that Senate subcommittee will be marking up the Bill that gives money to the …

Peace Corps. They can give it the full $450 million that will signal a bold new Peace Corps for a bold new century.  Or they can give it $373 million that will mean no growth, no reform. It’s up to you.

But we have some great news. On Thursday, June 25th, Senator Chris Dodd hit a home run in the ninth inning. He introduced the Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009, a powerful bill that combines a reform and growth strategy and authorizes $450 million, $575 million, and $700 million in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Click here to watch Dodd’s powerful speech and here to read the text.

And yesterday Senator Kit Bond (MO), Vice-Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee hit another home run with his piece “Peace Corps is Smart Power” in Newsmax, the leading conservative internet news publication.

If your Senator is one of the 14 critical subcommittee Senators, you cannot wait even a day to send in the sample letter below. It’s that important. You can change history. If your Senator is not on the critical subcommittee, adapt the letter below and urge co-sponsorship of the Dodd Bill and support of $450 million.  But please act and act now.

As soon as you read this, go to your computer and write that letter now. Pick up your phone and call your Senator.  And know that on July 7 you will have a right to savor what is a triumph for all of us, for America and for the world.

Who is on the Senate Subcommittee? (Click on their names to learn more about each member)

Senate Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs

Democrats
Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) (Chair) 202-224-4242
Senator Daniel Inouye (HI) 202-224-3934
Senator Tom Harkin (IA) 202-224-3254
Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD) 202-224-4654
Senator Richard Durbin (IL) 202-224-2152
Senator Tim Johnson (SD) 202-224-5842
Senator Mary Landrieu (LA) 202-224-5824
Senator Frank Lautenberg (NJ) 202-224-3224
Senator Arlen Specter (PA) 202-224-4254

Republican
Senator Judd Gregg (NH) (Ranking Member) 202-224-3324
Senator Mitch McConnell (KY) 202-224-2541
Senator Robert Bennett (UT) 202-224-5444
Senator Christopher Bond (MO) 202-224-5721
Senator Sam Brownback (KS) 202-224-6521

The Sample Letter

Dear Senator _______________,

You are a member of the Senate State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs appropriations subcommittee because you care profoundly about America’s role in the world.  You stand on the subcommittee as a gatekeeper, helping to determine how America presents itself to the rest of the world.  You have made many important votes in your life but none more crucial than that at the July 7, 2009 mark-up of the Foreign Operations Bill when you will be voting the appropriation for the Peace Corps.

I am one of several million Americans who hope that on that day you will vote in favor of an appropriation of $450 million which is the bare minimum needed to build a bold new Peace Corps. This is the amount that will allow the Peace Corps to grow, reform and innovate at a time when the US needs soft power initiatives to help restore US standing in the world.  With this money hundreds of new volunteers will be able to head out to strategically important counties like Indonesia.

Your colleagues in the House listened to the fervent arguments from their constituents and thousands of other Americans, and in the end voted unanimously for the robust $450 million in a stellar act of bipartisanship.  Their acts will never be forgotten by the 195,000 returned volunteers who yearn to see a Peace Corps that after half a century fulfills all that President John F. Kennedy hoped it would be.  I hope that you will join them in their important vote.  I also hope that you will consider becoming a cosigner of Senator Dodd’s bill, the Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009 that will create the underpinnings of this bold new Peace Corps.

The Peace Corps is neglected and under funded.  In 2009, we will send fewer than 3,500 volunteers to the Peace Corps – less than half the number in 1966.  Over twenty nations without Peace Corps missions including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Sierra Leone have requested new programs, but due to insufficient funds, Peace Corps cannot respond.  In 2008 alone, over 13,000 people applied to become volunteers, a 16% increase over 2007.  The number of minority applicants and applicants over the age of 50 also rose by double digits in the last year. The desire for Americans to serve internationally is matched by a long list of countries that want volunteers.  This is an appropriate time to grow and revitalize Peace Corps.

The Peace Corps had a profound impact on my life and US community.  I served in _______________.

I hope you share my view that the Peace Corps is a vital component of our public diplomacy toolbox.  Since 1961, nearly 200,000 Peace Corps volunteers have provided meaningful, small-scale development assistance, reversing stereotypes about Americans and returning stateside to enrich communities domestically with new language and other skills.  Peace Corps continues to be one of America’s finest expressions of friendship and solidarity across the globe.

We must work diligently to reinvigorate our foreign policy and not simple burnish America’s image but show the world the greatness and generosity of individual Americans. Investing in a bold new Peace Corps would help to reestablish our credibility and moral standing abroad, while exposing people to the core American values of peace, progress, tolerance and prosperity.  It is for these reasons I urge you to support a $450 million Peace Corps appropriation on July 7.

I appreciate the ardent support you have provided to the Peace Corps in the past and welcome your support in the subcommittee.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]