2011 US Code
Title 22 - Foreign Relations and Intercourse
Chapter 34 - THE PEACE CORPS (§§ 2501 - 2523)
Section 2501-1 - Independent agency status of Peace Corps

Effective on December 29, 1981, the Peace Corps shall be an independent agency within the executive branch and shall not be an agency within the ACTION Agency, the successor to the ACTION Agency, or any other department or agency of the United States.

(Pub. L. 87–293, title I, §2A, as added Pub. L. 97–113, title VI, §601(a), Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1540; amended Pub. L. 103–82, title IV, §405(e), Sept. 21, 1993, 107 Stat. 921.)

1993—Pub. L. 103–82 inserted “, the successor to the ACTION Agency,”.

Amendment by Pub. L. 103–82 effective Apr. 4, 1994, see section 406(b) of Pub. L. 103–82, set out as a note under section 8332 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Section 601(b), (c) of Pub. L. 97–113 provided that:

“(b) There are transferred to the Director of the Peace Corps all functions relating to the Peace Corps which were vested in the Director of the ACTION Agency [now Corporation for National and Community Service] on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 29, 1981].

“(c)(1) All personnel, assets liabilities, contracts, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and other funds are are determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, after consultation with the Comptroller General of the United States, the Director of the Peace Corps, and the Director of the ACTION Agency, to be employed, held, used, or assumed primarily in connection with any function relating to the Peace Corps before the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 29, 1981] are transferred to the Peace Corps. The transfer of unexpended balances pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be subject to section 202 of the Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950 (31 U.S.C. 581c) [31 U.S.C. 1531].

“(2)(A) The transfer pursuant to this subsection of full-time personnel (except special Government employees) and part-time personnel holding permanent positions shall not cause any employee to be separated or reduced in rank, class, grade, or compensation, or otherwise suffer a loss of employment benefits for one year after—

“(i) the date on which the director of the Office of Management and Budget submits the report required by subsection (f)(l) of this section, or

“(ii) the effective date of the transfer of such employee,

whichever occurs later.

“(B) The personnel transferred pursuant to this subsection shall, to the maximum extent feasible, be assigned to such related functions and organizational units in the Peace Corps as such personnel were assigned to immediately before the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 29, 1981].

“(C) Collective-bargaining agreements in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 29, 1981] covering personnel transferred pursuant to this subsection or employed on such date of enactment [Dec. 29, 1981] by the Peace Corps shall continue to be recognized by the Peace Corps until the termination date of such agreements or until such agreements are modified in accordance with applicable procedures.

“(3) Under such regulations as the President may prescribe, each person who, immediately before the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 29, 1981], does not hold an appointment under section 7(a)(2) of the Peace Corps Act [22 U.S.C. 2506(a)(2)] and who is determined under paragraph (1) of this subsection to be employed primarily in connection with any function relating to the Peace Corps shall, effective on the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 29, 1981], and notwithstanding subparagraph (B) of section 7(a)(2) of the Peace Corps Act, be appointed a member of the Foreign Service under section 7(a)(2) of the Peace Corps Act [22 U.S.C. 2506(a)(2)], and be appointed or assigned to an appropriate class of the Foreign Service, except that—

“(A) any person who, immediately before such date of enactment [Dec. 29, 1981], holds a career or career-conditional appointment shall not, without the consent of such person, be so appointed until three years after such date of enactment [Dec. 29, 1981], during which period any such person not consenting to be so appointed may continue to hold such career or career-conditional appointment; and

“(B) each person so appointed who, immediately before such date of enactment [Dec. 29, 1981], held a career or career-conditional appointment at grade GS–8 or lower of the General Schedule established by section 5332 of title 5, United States Code, shall be appointed a member of the Foreign Service for the duration of operations under the Peace Corps Act [this chapter].

Each person appointed under this paragraph shall receive basic compensation at the rate of such person's class determined by the President to be appropriate, except that the rate of basic compensation received by such person immediately before the effective date of such person's appointment under this paragraph shall not be reduced as a result of the provisions of this paragraph.”

Section 601(g) of Pub. L. 97–113 provided that: “References in any statute, reorganization plan, Executive order, regulation, or other official document or proceeding to the ACTION Agency [now Corporation for National and Community Service] or the Director of the ACTION Agency with respect to functions or activities relating to the Peace Corps shall be deemed to refer to the Peace Corps or the Director of the Peace Corps, respectively.”