[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3700 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3700
To provide Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees whose service was
terminated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with health insurance,
an expedited redeployment process, and domestic service opportunities,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 12, 2020
Mr. Murphy (for himself, Ms. Collins, and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees whose service was
terminated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with health insurance,
an expedited redeployment process, and domestic service opportunities,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Utilizing and Supporting Evacuated
Peace Corps Volunteers Act''.
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF INCLUSION OF PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS IN FEDERAL
PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION PROGRAM.
(a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``applicable
individual'' means an individual--
(1) who was serving as a Peace Corp Volunteer or Trainee
before the date of the enactment of this Act;
(2) whose period of service was subject to early
termination as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
(3) who is unemployed and not eligible for regular
unemployment compensation or extended unemployment benefits
under Federal or State law, including an individual who has
exhausted all rights to regular unemployment or extended
benefits under Federal or State law.
(b) Inclusion of Applicable Individuals.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Secretary of Labor shall deem applicable
individuals as covered individuals for purposes of section 2102 of the
Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (subtitle A of title II
of division A of Public Law 116-136).
SEC. 3. HEALTH INSURANCE CONTINUATION FOR PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS.
Section 5(e) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(e)) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``Volunteers shall receive such health
care'' and inserting ``(1) Volunteers shall receive such health
care''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Volunteers whose periods of service were subject to early
termination as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency
declared under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
247d), and applicants for enrollment described in section 8(a) whose
training prior to enrollment was subject to early termination as a
result of such public health emergency, shall receive--
``(A) 2 months of health insurance upon their return to the
United States; and
``(B) an opportunity to extend such health insurance, at
the expense of such volunteer or applicant for enrollment,
until the last day of the last week for which such volunteer or
applicant for enrollment is eligible for payments under section
2102 of the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act
(subtitle A of title II of division A of Public Law 116-136).
``(3) Not later than 30 days prior to the date on which the period
of service of a volunteer shall terminate, the Director of the Peace
Corps, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
shall provide general guidance to such volunteer on options for health
care after termination other than health care provided by the Peace
Corps, including information regarding--
``(A) the application process and eligibility requirements
for medical assistance through State plans under title XIX of
the Social Security Act (or waiver of State plans);
``(B) the qualified health plans (as defined in section
1301(a) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42
U.S.C. 18021(a))) offered through an Exchange established under
title I of such Act, including the enrollment periods for
enrolling in such plans; and
``(C) if such volunteer is 25 years of age or younger, the
eligibility of such volunteer to enroll as a dependent child in
a group health plan or health insurance coverage in which the
parent of such volunteer is enrolled if such plan or coverage
offers such dependent coverage.''.
SEC. 4. EXPEDITED HIRING FOR PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS.
(a) Noncompetitive Eligibility Hiring Status.--
(1) Distribution of information.--Not later than 30 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually
thereafter, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management,
in coordination with the Director of the Peace Corps, shall
prepare and distribute information to each Federal department
and agency in the executive branch regarding the noncompetitive
appointment eligibility available to Peace Corps volunteers for
up to 3 years under Executive Order 11103 (22 U.S.C. 2504 note;
relating to Providing for the Appointment of Former Peace Corps
Volunteers to the Civilian Career Services), as amended by
Executive Order 12107 (44 Fed. Reg. 1055; relating to the Civil
Service Commission and Labor-Management in the Federal
Service), including the qualifications for such eligibility.
(2) Expedited process.--Each Federal department and agency
in the executive branch facing critical hiring needs as a
result of the COVID-19 pandemic or that have unfilled
noncompetitive positions shall establish a process by which
staff with hiring authority receive the information described
in paragraph (1) from the Office of Personnel Management about
the expedited process for hiring such individuals who meet the
minimum qualifications of a vacant position.
(b) Corporation for National and Community Service.--The Chief
Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community
Service, in coordination with the Director of the Peace Corps, shall
establish an expedited process by which Volunteers and Trainees
evacuated due to the COVID-19 public health emergency can participate
in domestic service opportunities.
SEC. 5. RESUMPTION OF PEACE CORPS OPERATIONS.
(a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``reenroll'' means the
resumption of Peace Corps service, for a period determined by the
Director of the Peace Corps, of Volunteers and Trainees evacuated due
to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
(b) Resumption Required.--As soon as practicable after the Director
of the Peace Corps determines, as a result of the cessation of the
COVID-19 pandemic, that it is safe to resume Peace Corps global
operations, the Director shall seek to resume, to the fullest extent
possible, all of the Peace Corps programs in every country in which the
Peace Corps operated immediately before the March 15, 2020, suspension
of all Peace Corps volunteer activities.
(c) Report on Resumption of Peace Corps Operations Following End of
Public Health Emergency.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Peace Corps shall submit a
report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that
describes the efforts of the Peace Corps--
(1) to offer reenrollment to each Peace Corps Volunteer and
Trainee whose service ended suddenly on March 15, 2020 (or
earlier, in the case of volunteers who were serving China and
Mongolia), due to the COVID-19 public health emergency;
(2) to obtain approval from countries, as appropriate, to
return reenrolled Volunteers and Trainees to their previous
assignments or countries of service;
(3) to provide additional measures necessary for the safety
and health of Volunteers and Trainees and to develop
contingency plans in the event overseas operations are
disrupted by future COVID-19 outbreaks;
(4) to develop and maintain a robust volunteer cohort; and
(5) to identify the anticipated additional appropriations
or new statutory authorities that would be necessary to achieve
the goal of safely redeploying 7,300 Peace Corps Volunteers
during the 1-year period beginning on the date on which Peace
Corps operations resume.
(d) Expedited Reenrollment Process.--The Director of the Peace
Corps shall establish an expedited process for the reenrollment of
former Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees whose service was
interrupted as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, including--
(1) streamlining, to the fullest extent practicable, all
application requirements for the reenrollment of such
Volunteers and Trainees during the 2-year period beginning on
March 15, 2020;
(2) expediting the medical clearance for such Volunteers
and Trainees to facilitate reenrollment;
(3) beginning on the date on which such Volunteer or
Trainee reenrolls, providing such Volunteer or Trainee with the
compensation, allowances, benefits, and other terms and
conditions of service to which the volunteer is entitled under
the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.); and
(4) subject to the discretion of the Director, affording
evacuated Volunteers and Trainees, to the fullest extent
practicable, the opportunity--
(A) to return to their previous country of service;
and
(B) to resume work in the project area in which
they had been serving immediately before their
evacuation due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act and
section 5(e)(2) of the Peace Corps Act, as added by section 3(2), such
sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2020 through 2022.
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