22 U.S.C. § 2501
Section 2501 · Congressional declaration of purpose
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case 491 F. Supp. 630 - McRae v. Califano (1980)
Most recently applied in Collins v. Yellen (June 2021)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) The Congress of the United States declares that it is the policy of the United States and the purpose of this chapter to promote world peace and friendship through a Peace Corps, which shall make available to interested countries and areas men and women of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, under conditions of hardship if necessary, to help the peoples of such countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained manpower, particularly in meeting the basic needs of those living in the poorest areas of such countries, and to help promote a better understanding of the American people on the part of the peoples served and a better understanding of other peoples on the part of the American people.
(b) The Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States and a purpose of the Peace Corps to maintain, to the maximum extent appropriate and consistent with programmatic and fiscal considerations, a volunteer corps of at least 10,000 individuals.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 87–293, Sept. 22, 1961, 75 Stat. 612, as amended, known as the Peace Corps Act. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out below and Tables.
Amendments
1985—Pub. L. 99–83 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).
1978—Pub. L. 95–331 inserted “particularly in meeting the basic needs of those living in the poorest areas of such countries” after “manpower”.
Effective Date of 1985 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 99–83 effective Oct. 1, 1985, see section 1301 of Pub. L. 99–83, set out as a note under section 2151–1 of this title.
Effective Date
Section 28, formerly section 27, of Pub. L. 87–293, as renumbered by Pub. L. 99–83, title XI, §1105(a)(1), Aug. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 276, provided that: “This Act [see Short Title note below] shall take effect on the date of its enactment [Sept. 22, 1961].”
Short Title of 1978 Amendment
Section 1 of Pub. L. 95–331 provided: “That this Act [amending this section and sections 2501a, 2502, 2504, 2509, and 2510 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 2501a and 2509 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Peace Corps Act Amendments of 1978’.”
Short Title
Section 1 of Pub. L. 87–293 provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter, amending section 2253 of former Title 5, Executive Departments and Government Officers and Employees, section 425 of Title 20, Education, sections 912, 1303, 3121, 3122, 3401, and 6051 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code, and sections 405, 409, and 410 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 912 and 3121 of Title 26] may be cited as the ‘Peace Corps Act’.”
Executive Order No. 10924
Ex. Ord. No. 10924, Mar. 1, 1961, 26 F.R. 1789, relating to the establishment and administration of the Peace Corps, was superseded by Ex. Ord. No. 11041, Aug. 6, 1962, 27 F.R. 7859, set out below.
Executive Order No. 11041
Ex. Ord. No. 11041, Aug. 7, 1962, 27 F.R. 7859, as amended by Ex. Ord. No. 11250, Oct. 10, 1965, 30 F.R. 13003, which provided for the continuance and administration of the Peace Corps in the Department of State, was superseded by Ex. Ord. No. 11603, June 30, 1971, 36 F.R. 12675, set out below.
Executive Order No. 11603
Ex. Ord. No. 11603, June 30, 1971, 36 F.R. 12675, as amended by Ex. Ord. No. 12107, Dec. 28, 1978, 44 F.R. 1055, which provided for the continuance and administration of the Peace Corps within ACTION, was superseded by Ex. Ord. No. 12137, May 16, 1979, 44 F.R. 29023, set out below.
Ex. Ord. No. 12137. Administration of Peace Corps as an Agency Within ACTION
Ex. Ord. No. 12137, May 16, 1979, 44 F.R. 29023, as amended by Ex. Ord. No. 12245, Oct. 6, 1980, 45 F.R. 66769; Ex.Ord. No. 12292, Feb. 23, 1981, 46 F.R. 13968; Ex. Ord. No. 12399, Dec. 31, 1982, 48 F.R. 379, provided:
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Peace Corps Act, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2501–2523) and Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: