254 



visited the training camps,^'' and results of public opinion polls taken 

 by legislators of their constituents and by independent polling orga- 

 nizations of the general public showing support of the program.'^** 



Ohjections 



Minor objections to the program on the floor dealt primarily with 

 selection of volunteers, and administrative and legal problems. There 

 was the i^ossibility of religious proselytizing by missionary groups, if 

 allowed to assist the program ; the potential size of the group and age 

 limits of volunteers were questioned as was the propriety of an oath 

 of allegiance (as enacted, the volunteers were required to take an 

 oath) ; and there was the possibility of discrimination by foreign 

 nationals of American volunteers of particular ethnic or religious 

 background."* 



Several trimming actions were taken to the legislation on the floor, 

 such as reducing the employment of foreign nationals and inter- 

 national organizations in training of volunteers, and eliminating a 

 proposed Career Planning Board to lielp returned volunteers find jobs 

 in Government or otlier service; also dropped from the bill was 

 authorization for volunteers to work for international programs, and 

 an exemption of returned volunteers from taking Civil Service exams 

 to qualify for Federal employment. 



C 07nj)at}hility of the Peace Gorfs with U.S. foreign policy and goals 



On two related issues the Congress took a firm stand contrary to the 

 views of the administration proponents of the Peace Corps : 



As to tlie role of volunteers in the ''ideological struggle" of the 

 cold war; 



As to the compatibility of the program with the broader ele- 

 ments of U.S. foreign policy. 

 The views of the Peace Corps and its proponents on these two issues 

 are indicated in the following two quotations : 



(a) There is no better way to counteract anti-American propaganda than 

 by providing contact between Americans and citizens of other countries. Such 

 propaganda is inevitably most effective among people who have never had an 

 oi»portunity to get to know, or even to meet, Americans.*" 



(b) Because the Peace Cori)s is so unquestionably different [from ongoing 

 foreign policy and technical assistance programs] there is simply no organiza- 

 tional reason why it should be part of the new foreign aid agency. The mere fact 

 that it operates abroad is almost all that it has in common with ICA or with 

 its successor organization."^ 



In the hearings, Eepresentative Chester Merrow insisted that volun- 

 teers engage not only in technical assistance but also in ideological 

 competition. Director Shriver offered assurances that both purposes 

 would l3e served by the work of volunteers trained in the culture and 

 language of the local people, and that they would also be trained in 

 principles of American Government, democracy, and tactics of Com- 

 munist agitation. Plowever, to provide further assurance on these two 

 issues, the Congress added two provisions to the final legislation to 

 link the Peace Corps more closely to I^.S. foreign ])olicy objectives and 

 operations, (a) It required that volunteers be trained in Communist 



8s Congressional Record (Aug. 24, 1961), p. 15724. 



^" For instance, see: House, "Tlie Peace Corps. Hearings. * * *" op. cit., p. 2.3. 



«" Respectively : Senate, "The Peace Corps," Hearings * * * op. cit., pp. 19, 41, 51, 29, and 

 97, and Congressional Record (Aug. 25, 1961), p. 1.5491. 



•" "Peace Corps : The Need for the Peace Corps," Congressional Record, op. cit., pp. 1C882 - 

 16883. 



