Pacific Islands Caucus Members Advocate for Expansion of Peace Corps in Pacific Islands

On July 30, 2024, twelve Members of the Pacific Islands Caucus sent a letter to U.S. Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn urging Peace Corps expansion in the Pacific.

In their letter, the Members recognized the Peace Corps’ history in the Pacific Islands, highlighting its presence across fifteen countries in the region since 1966. They also noted that over the decades, the Peace Corps’ presence has shrunk to only four Pacific Islands countries: Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu, all of which have fortunately resumed their programs as of this month following COVID-19. They further noted that some of our closest partners in the region, the Freely Associated States (FAS), have no Peace Corps presence.

“While we support U.S. plans to resume the Peace Corps program in the Republic of Palau in 2025, it is unfortunate that there has been no such announcement for the other FAS, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI),” the Members wrote.

The letter requested that the Peace Corps respond by September 15, 2024 with a summary of the current and planned state of the Peace Corps’ presence in the Pacific Islands, an explanation of the timeline for and potential challenges of returning Peace Corps volunteers to Palau and an assessment of the feasibility and potential benefits of expanding the Peace Corps engagement in the Pacific Islands countries, to include FSM and RMI.

“We want to ensure a strong a vibrant Peace Corps presence throughout the region, and to assist you toward that goal in Congress,” the Members assured Director Spahn.

View the Members’ letter below. 

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