Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

Louis Jacobson
By Louis Jacobson February 18, 2010
Back to Double the Peace Corps

President's budget continues lower trendline for Peace Corps funding

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised to double the size of the Peace Corps to 16,000 by its 50th anniversary in 2011. But while the president's proposed fiscal year 2011 budget would increase the amount of money devoted to the Peace Corps, the amount envisioned is too low to reach Obama's original goal by 2011.
 
That's not to say that Obama has forsaken the Peace Corps in his proposed budget. His 2011 budget would allocate $446 million for the Peace Corps -- up more than 10 percent from the $400 million the corps had in fiscal year 2010 and up by about one-third from the $340 million it had in fiscal year 2009.
 
The administration said in its budget proposal that the amount allocated for 2011 would put the Peace Corps "on track" to reach 11,000 volunteers by 2016. So, rather than reaching 16,000 volunteers in two years, the Peace Corps would be on pace to reach 5,000 fewer than that in seven years.
 
When we last rated this promise in June 2009, supporters of the Peace Corps said they were lobbying lawmakers to do an end run around the administration and increase the funding on their own. For fiscal year 2010, that effort bore some fruit, as Congress upped the amount from what the president had proposed -- $373 million -- to the $400 million ultimately appropriated.
 
Meanwhile, bills in the House and Senate would increase funding at faster rates than the administration is seeking. The Peace Corps Expansion Act of 2009 (H.R. 1066), sponsored by Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., has 132 co-sponsors. The bill would provide $600 million for fiscal year 2011 and $750 million for fiscal year 2012. The Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009 (S. 1382), sponsored by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has 14 co-sponsors. It would provide $575 million for fiscal year 2011 and $700 million for fiscal year 2012.
 
So, it's still conceivable that Congress could act to provide the funding required to meet Obama's original promise. But the amount needed to meet that goal is substantial, and Congress has only one appropriations cycle to meet it. The administration itself is not proposing anywhere near enough to make its promise a reality, so we're shifting our rating from Stalled to Promise Broken.

Our Sources