,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #hac  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,april #be1 #bjac   
,mr4 ,reid 7for ,mr4 ,lautenberg 7for   
himself1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mrs4 ,boxer1  
,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,mrs4 ,murray1 ,ms4  
,warren1 and ,mr4 ,murphy77 introduced  
the following bill2 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 services1   
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,peace ,corps ,equity ,act of #bjac4    
#b4 ,findings ,congress makes the       
following findings3  7#a7 ,women of the 
,united ,states1 particularly women     
serving the ,united ,states overseas1   
deserve a basic standard of care when it
 comes to their health4  7#b7 ,since its
 founding in #aifa1 the ,peace ,corps   

has advanced interests of the ,united   
,states by working to promote peace and 
friendship between the ,united ,states  
and the #aci nations in which the ,peace
 ,corps has operated4  7#c7 ,over the   
past #ej years1 more than #baj1jjj      
,peace ,corps volunteers have served the
 ,united ,states by working in          
developing countries to address needs in
 areas such as education1 health1 youth 
and community development1 business and 
information and communications          
technology1 agriculture1 and the        
environment4  7#d7 ,more than #fj       
percent of the more than #h1jjj current 
,peace ,corps volunteers are women4     
7#e7 ,peace ,corps volunteers face      
inherent risks to their safety and      
security by virtue of living and working
 abroad4  7#f7 ,data from the ,peace    
,corps from #bjjj to #bjji indicate that
 more than #a1jjj ,peace ,corps         
volunteers experienced sexual assaults1 
including #bba rapes or attempted rapes4
 ,data from the ,peace ,corps also show 

that incidents of sexual assault and    
rape against volunteers often go        
unreported4  7#g7 ,recognizing the high 
incidence of sexual assault in the      
,peace ,corps1 ,congress enacted the    
,kate ,puzey ,peace ,corps ,volunteer   
,protection ,act of #bjaa 7,public ,law 
#aab-eg7 to strengthen protections and  
support for sexual assault survivors4   
7#h7 ,since fiscal year #aigi1 annual   
appropriations ,acts have prohibited the
 ,peace ,corps from covering abortion   
services for its volunteers 7including  
trainees71 even in cases of rape1       
incest1 and life endangerment of the    
woman4 ,employees of the ,peace ,corps1 
on the other hand1 are provided this    
coverage4  7#i7 ,abortion services in   
cases of rape1 incest1 and life         
endangerment of the woman are now       
available to almost all groups of women 
of the ,united ,states covered by       
,federal law1 except ,peace ,corps      
volunteers4  7#aj7 ,abortion coverage in
 cases of rape1 incest1 and life        

endangerment of the woman is available  
to most women1 excluding ,peace ,corps  
volunteers1 covered under ,federal      
health plans1 including employees       
covered by the ,federal ,employee       
,health ,benefits ,program1 servicewomen
 covered by ,,tricare1 ,native          
,americans covered by the ,indian       
,health ,service1 women inmates and     
immigration detainees1 and ,medicaid and
 ,medicare recipients4  7#aa7 ,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      
plans4  #c4 ,equitable treatment of     
,peace ,corps volunteers and employees  
with respect to coverage of abortion    
services ,section #e7;e7 of the ,peace  
,corps ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bejd7;e77 is
 amended--  7#a7 by striking 7e7        
,volunteers and inserting the following3
  7e7 ,health care  7#a7 ,in general    
,volunteers  2 and  7#b7 by adding at   
the end the following3  7#b7 ,equitable 

treatment of volunteers and employees   
with respect to coverage of abortion    
services  7,a7 ,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 services4  7,b7            
,applicability ,subparagraph 7,a7 shall 
apply notwithstanding any provision of  
law1 including a provision of law       
enacted after the date of the enactment 
of the ,peace ,corps ,equity ,act of    
#bjac1 unless such law explicitly       
excludes application of subparagraph    
7,a7 by reference to such subparagraph4 
7,c7 ,construction ,this paragraph shall
 not be construed to limit coverage of  
medical evacuations4  4