Sam Farr: “I rise on behalf of my colleagues in Congress who are return Peace Corps volunteers--Congressman Petri, Congressman…”

“I rise on behalf of my colleagues in Congress who are return Peace Corps volunteers--Congressman Petri, Congressman Honda, Congressman Driehaus, and Congressman Garamendi. Fifty years ago this October in a predawn address, then-Presidential candidate, John F. Kennedy, challenged students at the University of Michigan to give 2 years of their lives to improve America's image by serving abroad. This impromptu exhortation ultimately set the stage for the Peace Corps, redefined U.S. global engagement, and elevated American moral standing at the height of the Cold War. The idea ignited the public imagination and the executive branch initiated the program rapidly. Losing no time, President Kennedy ordered Sargent Shriver to do a feasibility study. Sargent Shriver said at the time, 'We received more letters from people offering to work in or to volunteer for the Peace Corps, which did not then exist, than for all other existing Federal agencies.' I was one of those early recruits who found in the Peace Corps an avenue for national service.”