§ 2511 — Peace Corps National Advisory Council

(a) A Peace Corps National Advisory Council (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Council”) shall be established in accordance with the provisions of this section. (1) The Council shall advise and consult with the President and the Director of the Peace Corps with regard to policies and programs designed to further the purposes of this chapter and shall, as the Council considers appropriate, periodically report to the Congress with regard to the Peace Corps. (2) Members of the Council shall (subject to subsection (d)(1)) conduct on-site inspections, and make examinations, of the activities of the Peace Corps in the United States and in other countries in order to— (A) evaluate the accomplishments of the Peace Corps; (B) assess the potential capabilities and the future role of the Peace Corps; (C) make recommendations to the President, the Director of the Peace Corps, and, as the Council considers appropriate, the Congress, for the purpose of guiding the future direction of the Peace Corps and of helping to ensure that the purposes and programs of the Peace Corps are carried out in ways that are economical, efficient, responsive to changing needs in developing countries and to changing relationships among people, and in accordance with law; and (D) make such other evaluations, assessments, and recommendations as the Council considers appropriate. (3) The Council may provide for public participation in its activities. (1) Persons appointed as members of the Council shall be broadly representative of the general public, including educational institutions, private volunteer agencies, private industry, farm organizations, labor unions, different regions of the United States, different educational, economic, racial, and national backgrounds and age groupings, and both sexes. (A) The Council shall consist of fifteen voting members who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. At least seven of such members shall be former Peace Corps volunteers, and not more than eight of such members shall be members of the same political party. (B) The first appointments of members of the Council under this paragraph shall be made not more than sixty days after August 8, 1985, and, solely for purposes of determining the expiration of their terms, shall be deemed to take effect on the sixtieth day after August 8, 1985. (C) No member appointed under this paragraph may be an officer or employee of the United States Government. (D) Of the members initially appointed under this paragraph, eight shall be appointed to 1-year terms and seven shall be appointed to 2-year terms. Thereafter, all appointed members shall be appointed to 2-year terms. (E) A member of the Council appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that term. (F) No member of the Council may serve for more than two consecutive 2-year terms. (G) Members of the Council shall serve at the pleasure of the President. (H) An appointed member of the Council may be removed by a vote of nine members for malfeasance in office, for persistent neglect of or inability to discharge duties, or for offenses involving moral turpitude, and for no other cause. (I) Within thirty days after any vacancy occurs in the office of an appointed member of the Council, the President shall nominate an individual to fill the vacancy. (3) In addition to the voting members of the Council, the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the Agency for International Development, or their designees, and the Director and Deputy Director of the Peace Corps, shall be non-voting members, ex officio, of the Council. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a member of the Council who is not an officer or employee of the United States Government— (A) shall be paid compensation out of funds made available for the purposes of this chapter at the daily equivalent of the highest rate payable under section 5332 of title 5 for each day (including travel time) during which the member is engaged in the actual performance of duties as a Council member, and (B) while away from his or her home or regular place of business on necessary travel, as determined by the Director of the Peace Corps, in the actual performance of duties as a Council member, shall be paid per diem, travel, and transportation expenses in the same manner as is provided under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5. (2) A member of the Council may not be paid compensation under paragraph (1)(A) for more than twenty days in any calendar year. (e) A majority of the voting members of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of transacting any business. (f) A member of the Council shall disclose to the Council the existence of any direct or indirect financial interest of that member in any particular matter before the Council and may not vote or otherwise participate as a Council member with respect to that particular matter. (g) At its first meeting and at its first regular meeting in each calendar year thereafter, the Council shall elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among its appointed members who are citizens of the United States. The Chair and Vice Chair may not both be members of the same political party. (1) The Council shall hold a regular meeting during each calendar quarter and shall meet at the call of the President, the Director of the Peace Corps, the Council’s Chair, or one-fourth of its members. (2) The Council shall prescribe such bylaws and regulations as it considers necessary to carry out its functions. Such bylaws and regulations shall include procedures for fixing the time and place of meetings, giving or waiving of notice of meetings, and keeping of minutes of meetings. (i) Not later than January 1, 1988, and not later than January 1 of each second year thereafter, the Council shall submit to the President and the Director of the Peace Corps a report on its views on the programs and activities of the Peace Corps. Each report shall contain a summary of the advice and recommendations provided by the Council to the President and the Director during the period covered by the report and such recommendations (including recommendations for administrative or legislative action) as the Council considers appropriate to make to the Congress. Within ninety days after receiving each such report, the President shall submit to the Congress a copy of the report, together with any comments concerning the report that the President or the Director considers appropriate. (j) The Director of the Peace Corps shall make available to the Council such personnel, administrative support services, and technical assistance as are necessary to carry out its functions effectively.