; and (3) increase educational benefits for those that serve so that more people will not only have the financial ability to perform extensive community service, but to increase the overall number of national and international volunteers to 260,000, and provide an additional 240,000 teachers and health professionals to underserved areas. (b) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) On April 21, 2009, the President signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, to amend and reauthorize the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973. (2) The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act set bold benchmarks for expanding the number and scope of service in the United States. (3) The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act required the Corporation for National and Community Service to develop a plan to increase the number of approved national service positions from 88,000 in fiscal year 2010 to 250,000 in fiscal year 2017. (4) The total national service positions in fiscal year 2016 were 85,928, 149,072 less than the 235,000 authorized in the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. (5) Congress should renew its commitment to national service and appropriate funds necessary to support the increased national service positions in the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. (6) The Peace Corps was founded in 1961 to promoting world peace and friendship by improving the lives of those they serve, helping others understand American culture, and sharing their experience with Americans back home. (7) Nearly 225,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in 141 countries over the lifetime of the program. (8) In 1985 Congress made it the policy of the United States to maintain consistent with programmatic and fiscal considerations, a Peace Corps volunteer level of at least 10,000 individuals. (9) 10,000 individuals has not been reached since 1968, although the objective has been reiterated by three Presidents. In 2016 the Peace Corps had about 7,213 volunteers serving in 65 nations. (10) Congress must now