Doge’s staff arrives at the headquarters of the Peace Corps, signaling possible cuts

Representatives of the Ministry of Effectiveness of the Government arrived at the headquarters of the Peace Corps, confirmed the agency on Saturday, reporting possible discounts to a volunteer mission which has long appreciated the Bipartisan support.

“The staff of the Government Ministry is currently working at the headquarters of the Peace Corps and the agency supports its requests,” said the Press Office of the Peace Corps, without specifying what work Doge undertakes or how the agency responds to its requests.

The National Peace Corps Association said that a DOGE representative arrived on Friday and that additional staff were expected throughout the weekend. The non -profit organization, which supports the mission of the agency, told members that it was on monitoring any funding reduction.

“These visits to other federal agencies have led to major financing reductions,” said the association in an article on Facebook. “We do not yet know the full impact, but we look carefully.”

The White House and Dogi did not immediately respond to requests for comments from NBC News.

The Peace Corps has struggled to achieve its endowment objectives in recent years, with its “filling rate”, a measure which reflects its ability to respond to volunteer requests, from 94% during the 2019 fiscal year to 63% during the year 2023, according to the agency data.

The budget of the Peace Corps during the 2024 fiscal year was $ 430.5 million, less than a tenth percent of the total federal budget, according to a recent financial report. The Biden Administration asked that the agency receive $ 479 million in this exercise, but the Congress has not yet adopted a financing authorization after the election of President Donald Trump in the fall.

The legislation aimed at extending the agency’s resources, in particular by allowing volunteers to receive greater payments after their service, has received bipartisan support in previous years, but has not obtained sufficient support to become right.

The Peace Corps is not a foreign aid agency, but it engages in international development and assistance, volunteers working in sectors that include education, health, development of young people, community economic development, the environment and agriculture. The Senate committees on foreign relations and in the Foreign Affairs House oversee the agency’s activities and programs.

The Peace Corps has only restored its geographic footprint to pre-pale levels during the last financial year, with more than 3,300 volunteers serving in 61 countries. The agency planned to extend its work in the Indo-Pacific region this year, but it is not clear if these plans will continue.

The Peace Corps was created by executive decree by President John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961 and officially authorized by the Congress on September 22, 1961.

More than 240,000 Americans have served in the agency since its foundation and the trainees have been recently deployed in Armenia, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

The presence of Doge at the Peace Corps occurs for months after the group led by Elon Musk began to dismantle the American agency for international development. The Peace Corps and USAID have collaborated through various initiatives, including the small project assistance program, which grants grants to the volunteers of the Peace Corps in allocation in world countries for development projects.