The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) arrived at the headquarters of the Peace Corps to conduct a major audit on behalf of President Donald Trump’s administration.
DOGE will be looking to make more cuts wherever it finds waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer money, NBC News reported.
In a statement, the Peace Corps’ press office said:
“Staff from the Department of Government Efficiency are currently working at Peace Corps headquarters, and the agency is supporting their requests.”
While no information is yet available about areas or programs for cuts, the organization reportedly supports DOGE’s efforts.
In a post on Facebook, the association said:
“These visits at other federal agencies have led to major funding cuts.
“We don’t yet know the full impact, but we’re watching closely.”
The Corps has struggled in recent years to get enough volunteers.
Its “fill rate” was only at 63% in 2023.
The Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees oversee the Corps’s activities.
Peace Corps has a $430 million annual budget.
It’s a large number, but it represents only one-tenth of 1% of the federal budget.
There have been attempts to increase the budget by another $40 million.
However, the legislation has not been passed.
The organization’s 3,300 volunteers work to develop and assist foreign nations.
The work is focused in the areas of education, health, youth development, community economic development, environment, and agriculture.
The volunteers do get paid something when they complete their 27 months of volunteering.
This payment is typically a readjustment allowance of just over $10,000 and student loan forgiveness, among other benefits.
There has traditionally been bipartisan support for its activities.
However, the cuts have to come from somewhere.
There’s no doubt that DOGE and the federal government will be weighing whether the benefits of the Corps outweigh the cost.
It may be something that DOGE determines is not as important as working on balancing the budget and tackling the giant pile of debt that the last few presidents have racked up.
Even if DOGE only identifies some useless cogs in the machine, it will help reach the goal of a balanced budget.
Judging by what DOGE has uncovered so far, it’s more than likely that huge sums of cash are being funneled into “woke” schemes.
READ MORE – DOGE Exposes Obscene Monthly Payments for Minor Modifications of VA’s Website
