John Garamendi: “Today, I am excited to join my colleagues as we consider the first reauthorization of the Peace Corps in two decades and…”

“Today, I am excited to join my colleagues as we consider the first reauthorization of the Peace Corps in two decades and also celebrate the 61st anniversary of the establishment of this extraordinary American invention. This week, we celebrate the anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's signing of the Peace Corps Act into law on September 22, 1961. My wife, Patti, and I began our careers in public service when we joined the Peace Corps as young married graduates fresh out of UC Berkeley. Our post was to a remote village in western Ethiopia. We taught the seventh and eighth grades and engaged in community development. Like so many Americans of every age and background, we answered JFK's call to service. Over the 60 years since the first volunteers arrived in Liberia, more than 240,000 Americans have served in 143 countries. Their tasks were to assist in the economic and social development in those countries. JFK gave the call to service: ``Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.'' By 1962, Peace Corps volunteers were in-country. They were bringing advanced agricultural production techniques. They were teaching and providing medical education and healthcare services. They were creating cooperatives. They were building roads. They were bringing every conceivable skill that every nation needed.…”