46th Anniversary of Peace Corps

46TH ANNIVERSARY OF PEACE CORPS -- (Senate - March 02, 2007)

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, 46 years ago, President John F. Kennedy proposed to the Congress one of the most successful and influential programs in the history of our Nation. It was on March 1, 1961, that President Kennedy asked the Congress to establish the Peace Corps.

In making that request, President Kennedy pointed out that the program would be of great benefit to struggling nations that were in ``urgent need for skilled manpower.' The program has helped meet that need as more than 187,000 volunteers have served in the Peace Corps since its inception, in 139 countries.

President Kennedy also explained that the program would benefit developed nations as well. ``The future of freedom around the world,' President Kennedy explained, ``depend[s], in a very real sense, on the ability to build growing and independent nations where men can live in dignity, liberated from the bonds of hunger, ignorance, and poverty.' In pursuit of the Peace Corps mission of helping people help themselves throughout the world, Peace Corps volunteers have served as school teachers, economic development advisers, agricultural and environmental specialists, and in various capacities as skilled laborers. These dedicated Americans have helped developing nations with health and sanitation projects and have assisted them in increasing their agricultural production. They have helped these nations to combat diseases, including malaria and HIV/AIDS, that have, for too long, plagued underdeveloped nations. Because of the outstanding work of its volunteers, the Peace Corps has become an enduring symbol of the American commitment to freedom through the encouragement of the social, as well as the economic progress of all nations.

And, in proposing the creation of the Peace Corps, President Kennedy forthrightly acknowledged that American self-interest was involved in the creation of the program. ``Our own young men and women,' he explained, ``will be enriched by the [Peace Corps] experience ..... an experience which will aid them in their future careers.' And it did. Members of the Senate, Senators Paul Tongas and Chris Dodd, came to this Chamber as Peace Corps veterans. My good friend and colleague from West Virginia, Senator JAY ROCKEFELLER had worked for the Peace Corps in Washington, DC, where he served as the operations director for its largest overseas program in the Philippines. Members of my staff, like Zach Pusch, and even the mothers of members of my staff, like Mrs. Dorothy Corbin, have served in the Peace Corps. I have heard all of them, on a number of occasions, discuss how their lives and careers were enhanced by their service in the Peace Corps. Their experience in the Peace Corps inspired them to persevere in making this world a better and safer place in which to live, work, and raise families, long after they had left the program.

It is through the Peace Corps that the dreams and the policies of the great and beloved President John F. Kennedy live on.

On this 46th Anniversary of the Peace Corps, and in celebration of National Peace Corps Week, I want to congratulate everyone and anyone ever involved in this unique organization for your service to our country. And, I want to commend you for your efforts in promoting freedom around the world.

http://thomas.loc.gov/