April 07, 2020

Duckworth, Durbin Join Van Hollen in Writing Bipartisan Letters in Support of Peace Corps, AmeriCorps Volunteers

 

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and nearly two dozen of their Senate colleagues in sending two bipartisan letters seeking clarity on unemployment benefits and work opportunities for Peace Corps, AmeriCorps and other national service participants. In the first letter, the Members urge Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia to clarify that the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program passed within the CARES Act covers Peace Corps, AmeriCorps and other similarly situated national service participants. In the second letter, directed to leadership at the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Members urge these agencies to provide returned Peace Corps volunteers with the opportunity to enlist in domestic COVID-19 response efforts.

In their letter to the Department of Labor the Members write, “Peace Corps and AmeriCorps participants advance our nation’s interests at home and around the world by providing education, health, and economic development opportunities to the communities they serve. Due to the spread of COVID-19, the Peace Corps has suspended international operations, ending the service of more than 7,300 participants. While Peace Corps and AmeriCorps participants receive a stipend for their service, they are not eligible for regular unemployment insurance (UI).”

As the Senators point to in this letter, this designation is in line with Congressional intent, but DOL guidance will provide certainty. Duckworth, Durbin and Van Hollen were joined in sending this letter by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tom Udall (D-NM), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

The full text of the letter regarding unemployment insurance is available here.

In their letter to the Peace Crops, AmeriCorps and FEMA regarding further service opportunities, the Senators begin, “We write to express concern regarding the employment status of returned Peace Corps volunteers. While we support the decision to recall volunteers from their overseas posts amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that terminating their service contracts and health insurance coverage – at a time when our country’s public health and economic crises are rapidly worsening – not only endangers the livelihood of volunteers, but also squanders their unique skillset. We therefore urge you to provide them opportunities to enlist in domestic efforts to combat COVID-19.”

Duckworth, Durbin and Van Hollen were joined in sending the letter by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tom Udall (D-NM), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

The full text of the letter regarding service opportunities is available here.