On June 25 Senator Chris Dodd introduced the Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009 authorizing funding to double the number of volunteers within three years.
"Inventiveness and duty: two qualities that don’t often go together. But the Peace Corps is the result of just such a combination. It has strengthened our nation, improved the world, and stands today as one of the signal accomplishments of the 20th century. Nothing has meant more in my life, or in the lives of so many others. To those who know and love the Peace Corps, reform is an uncomfortable subject. After all, we don’t want to destroy what has made this institution so remarkable and unique. There wouldn’t be a Peace Corps if JFK had stuck to the script in Ann Arbor. There wouldn’t be a Peace Corps if thousands of students, acting on their own initiative, hadn’t caught his attention with their movement. There might not be a Peace Corps if Sargent Shriver had listened to the respectable voices of caution. The Peace Corps is unlike any other organ of our government because of its uniquely grassroots origin. And we can’t treat it like any other organ of our government. So the Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009 does not include a list of mandates. It does not micromanage. Instead, it asks those who have written this remarkable success story – from the Director to managers and country directors to current and returned volunteers – to serve once more by undertaking a thorough assessment of the Peace Corps and developing a comprehensive strategic plan for reforming and revitalizing the organization."