As Congress struggles to reach agreement over federal spending, it is my hope members come together to make a wise and significant investment in the Peace Corps.

While many lawmakers argue for fiscal austerity, the Peace Corps had already been faced with congressionally mandated belt-tightening for nearly a decade. In fact, agency funding has increased by only 5% over the last eight years.

As a Peace Corps volunteer, I lived in Costa Rica in 1964-66, teaching classes at the Universidad de Costa Rica. Living at the same economic level as other teachers, I learned that most people simply want to make a decent living, to be with their family, and to be treated like any other human being.

The Peace Corps is worth every penny for the good that comes from putting a personal face on the United States by placing volunteers in countries that request them. It is equally valuable here at home, for putting a human face, that of the returned volunteer, on a country whose name and location we may be challenged to identify.

The Peace Corps has always enjoyed bipartisan support. That support needs to include the annual appropriation. I urge our senators and representatives to demonstrate their support and increase our nation’s investment in the Peace Corps.

Johanna “Joan” Landsberg

Bend

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