Peace Corps Equity Act of 2014 - Amends the Peace Corps Act to subject abortion service coverage by the Peace Corps for volunteers to the same limitations that apply to Peace Corps employees regarding coverage of abortion services.
States that such restriction shall not be construed to limit medical evacuation coverage.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2291 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2291
To require that Peace Corps volunteers be subject to the same
limitations regarding coverage of abortion services as employees of the
Peace Corps with respect to coverage of such services, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 6, 2014
Mrs. Shaheen (for herself, Ms. Collins, Mrs. Boxer, Mrs. Gillibrand,
Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Warren, Mr. Tester, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.
Brown, Mr. Coons, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs.
Feinstein, Mr. Heinrich, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Mr.
Leahy, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Begich, Mr.
Franken, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Markey)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require that Peace Corps volunteers be subject to the same
limitations regarding coverage of abortion services as employees of the
Peace Corps with respect to coverage of such services, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Peace Corps Equity Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Women of the United States, particularly women serving
the United States overseas, deserve a basic standard of care
when it comes to their health.
(2) Since its founding in 1961, the Peace Corps has
advanced interests of the United States by working to promote
peace and friendship between the United States and the 139
nations in which the Peace Corps has operated.
(3) Over the past 50 years, more than 210,000 Peace Corps
volunteers have served the United States by working in
developing countries to address needs in areas such as
education, health, youth and community development, business
and information and communications technology, agriculture, and
the environment.
(4) More than 60 percent of the more than 8,000 current
Peace Corps volunteers are women.
(5) Peace Corps volunteers face inherent risks to their
safety and security by virtue of living and working abroad.
(6) Data from the Peace Corps from 2000 to 2009 indicate
that more than 1,000 Peace Corps volunteers experienced sexual
assaults, including 221 rapes or attempted rapes. Data from the
Peace Corps also show that incidents of sexual assault and rape
against volunteers often go unreported.
(7) Recognizing the high incidence of sexual assault in the
Peace Corps, Congress enacted the Kate Puzey Peace Corps
Volunteer Protection Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-57) to
strengthen protections and support for sexual assault
survivors.
(8) Since fiscal year 1979, annual appropriations Acts have
prohibited the Peace Corps from covering abortion services for
its volunteers (including trainees), even in cases of rape,
incest, and life endangerment of the woman. Employees of the
Peace Corps, on the other hand, are provided this coverage.
(9) Abortion services in cases of rape, incest, and life
endangerment of the woman are now available to almost all
groups of women of the United States covered by Federal law,
except Peace Corps volunteers.
(10) Abortion coverage in cases of rape, incest, and life
endangerment of the woman is available to most women, excluding
Peace Corps volunteers, covered under Federal health plans,
including employees covered by the Federal Employee Health
Benefits Program, servicewomen covered by TRICARE, Native
Americans covered by the Indian Health Service, women inmates
and immigration detainees, and Medicaid and Medicare
recipients.
(11) There is no rational basis for denying Peace Corps
volunteers a basic health care benefit that is extended to
other women covered under Federal health care plans.
SEC. 3. EQUITABLE TREATMENT OF PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS AND EMPLOYEES
WITH RESPECT TO COVERAGE OF ABORTION SERVICES.
Section 5(e) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(e)) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``(e) Volunteers'' and inserting the
following:
``(e) Health Care.--
``(1) In general.--Volunteers''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Equitable treatment of volunteers and employees with
respect to coverage of abortion services.--
``(A) In general.--Coverage of abortion services by
the Peace Corps for volunteers shall be subject to the
same limitations as those that apply to employees of
the Peace Corps with respect to coverage by the Peace
Corps of abortion services.
``(B) Applicability.--Subparagraph (A) shall apply
notwithstanding any provision of law, including a
provision of law enacted after the date of the
enactment of the Peace Corps Equity Act of 2014, unless
such law explicitly excludes application of
subparagraph (A) by reference to such subparagraph.
``(C) Construction.--This paragraph shall not be
construed to limit coverage of medical evacuations.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
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