In the spring, as I have noted, there was a turnaround in requests. They are up 50 percent over last year and 7 percent over 2 years ago, so that the spring months were the highest in 5 years. Because of this turnaround, which I believe is due to additional recruiting efforts, and new types of recruiting efforts, OMB agreed, as they have agreed before, to increase the budget request.

Chairman MORGAN. Mr. Blatchford, of course, we often read in the press that governments have asked for a termination or phaseout of the Peace Corps programs. The other day I was told that 13 countries have now asked us to terminate or phase out the Peace Corps. Why would we need an increase in the recruitment program if we are phasing out in certain countries around the world?

Mr. BLATCHFORD. In fact, 14 countries have terminated the Peace Corps during 10 years, a little more than 1 per year. At the same time, the Peace Corps is working in more countries than it ever has. Chairman MORGAN. In how many countries is the Peace Corps working at this time?

Mr. BLATCHFORD. We are working in 55 countries and we are working in four countries under a multinational basis. That is 59 in all. The requests are up in the countries where we have been working and we have begun in new countries this year-in the Congo, in Mali, in Mauritius, in Malta.

Chairman MORGAN. Wasn't the Peace Corps in Mali once before? Isn't this a re-entrance project?

Mr. BLATCHFORD. No; this is the first time.
Chairman MORGAN. First time.

Mr. BLATCHFORD. First time in the Congo.

Chairman MORGAN. Mr. Blatchford, have you had any special disciplinary problems in the past year? These are always highlighted and brought out during debate on the floor with the Peace Corps. Mr. BLATCHFORD. Fortunately, in the last year I can report no special disciplinary problems, Mr. Chairman.

Chairman MORGAN. How many Peace Corps volunteers did you terminate over the past year for any disciplinary problems? Do you have any figures on this point?

Mr. BLATCHFORD. Well, a number have terminated their Peace Corps service before the end of 2 years for the usual reasons, emotional reasons or difficulties they are having with their job. None have been terminated for any political reasons or any special disciplinary reasons. Chairman MORGAN. Mr. Blatchford, with the merger of the Peace Corps into the ACTION Agency many Members of Congress, including myself, are somewhat alarmed about committee jurisdiction over the Peace Corps. I know that the way the merger was carried out this year that we retained jurisdiction but it worries many members of this committee that as the ACTION Agency grows, the Committee on Foreign Affairs will lose jurisdiction over the Peace Corps. Do you see any reason for us to be alarmed that some day we may lose jurisdiction over the Peace Corps?

Mr. BLATCHFORD. I should hope not, Mr. Chairman. For my part our relationship in the Peace Corps and now the overseas arm of the ACTION Corps has been excellent. We have enjoyed a very open and fair hearing from the Foreign Affairs Committee and I would hope that we would continue to have the oversight of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

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Chairman MORGAN. What other committee will you appear in front of to justify further budgets for ACTION besides this committee?

Mr. BLATCHFORD. This year I will not appear before any because the other component parts of ACTION are going on their own. I believe in the future I will probably have to appear before the Education and Labor Committee for the domestic side, including the Teacher Corps bill which is being sent up to the Congress to transfer the Teacher Corps into the ACTION Corps.

Chairman MORGAN. Mr. Blatchford, could you furnish a list for the record of the 14 countries where the Peace Corps has been terminated or phased out in the last 10 years?

Mr. BLATCHFORD. Yes, I would be happy to, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman MORGAN. And the reasons.

Mr. BLATCHFORD. Yes.

(The list follows:)

Country

1. Cyprus.. 2. Ceylon..

3. Indonesia......

4. Guinea....

Date

February 1964..
June 1964...

May 1965.
November 1966.

COUNTRY PROGRAMS TERMINATED

Reason

Health and safety of volunteers threatened by civil insurrection.
When the first group of 39 volunteers to serve in Ceylon completed service,
a new group was not requested. There was unrest in the Ceylonese gov-
ernment and a general disaffection with western assistance programs.
Terminated by PC because of harassment of volunteers by PKI (Indonesian
Communist Party).

PC volunteers were expelled after a series of incidents culminating with
the removal of a Guinean delegation from a Pan Am plane in Accra,
created strained relations between Guinea and the United States.
Government of Pakistan felt that volunteers did not possess sufficiently
high levels of technical skills and did not request additional volunteers
after last program was completed.

To show solidarity with other Arab States during the war with Israel,
Mauritania broke relations with the United States.
December 1967... Gabonese Government requested PC withdrawal stating that Gabon could
not continue to pay certain program costs such as school construction
materials.

September 1969... The Tanzanian Government has not requested additional volunteers.
.do..
Change of government. New government policy terminated teaching of
English in public schools.

December 1969.
October 1970....

5. Pakistan.

June 1967.

6. Mauritania.

_do....

June 1971.

December 1970.
May 1971..

Change of government, new government requested PC to leave.

PC returned to Ceylon in December 1967, when a change of government
took place. In September 1970, PC again completed its service in Ceylon
under circumstances similar to those in 1964.

The Nigerian Government has not requested additional volunteers.
Panama terminated PC programs on the basis that with United States help
it had developed sufficient resources to establish, with the assistance of
ISVS, its own volunteer forces.

As a result of political instability and hostile actions against PCVs by
segments of the Bolivian political spectrum, the PC was requested to
withdraw by the Bolivian Government.

The Guyanan Government has not requested additional volunteers.
PC returned to Guinea in June 1969, and subsequently the GOG cancelled
all replacement and expansion requests as a result of the November
1970, invasion after which they retrenched on all foreign government
technical assistance.

Chairman MORGAN. What is the status now of our involvement in Bolivia?

Mr. BLATCHFORD. The Peace Corps contract in Bolivia was terminated by the country of Bolivia about 3 months ago after riots and charges of leftist students and political pressures on a government that felt it politically wise to terminate the Peace Corps. It was clearly due to the government's decision which was a political decision, certainly not the decision of the people that the Peace Corps worked with. In fact, just last week a school that was built by self-help-the villagers with Peace Corps volunteers-was dedicated to a former Peace Corp

volunteer who had died in Bolivia, and this took place with a large gathering in the square and the dedication of the school with all the people and local officials there.

We have the reports that nothing but praise was heard of the work she had done and all the Peace Corps volunteers in education and in building schools. So I don't think in any of these cases, the 12 I mentioned over 10 years, can anyone cite that the people themselves that we worked with, that is, the mission of the Peace Corps, had wanted the Peace Corps to leave. It left because of political decisions by the government.

Chairman MORGAN. Mr. Blatchford, I noticed that the administration expenses have been reduced by $3.5 million for fiscal year 1972. Is this primarily the result of a staff reduction. If so, where was the staff reduction, in Washington or abroad?

Mr. BLATCHFORD. There was a staff reduction in both Washington and abroad of approximately 29 percent that was carried out in the last year and a half. As you know, it is usually a phaseout period of employees and therefore the savings will be felt most in the year to come. That is the principal reason for the savings, staff reductions, as well as the elimination of some of the background investigations that have been carried on in the past.

Chairman MORGAN. Mr. Blatchford, last year there was some objection made to the salaries paid to some of your program directors. How do the present salaries compare with those of last year?

Mr. BLATCHFORD. I assume that the salaries of our program people have adjusted upward like the rest of the Government salaries. They are subject to Executive order and congressional act and are really out of our hands. The salary raises continue to go up in the Government.

Chairman MORGAN. Mr. Blatchford, I have one further request. It has been customary that we carry in our report a table of all positions over grade level GS-11. Would you provide an updated table for the record so we could incorporate it in our report?

Mr. BLATCHFORD. Be happy to, Mr. Chairman. (The information follows:)

$36,000

$32,000 to $32,999.

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