US associations urge government to restore study abroad and exchange funding

On February 13th, recipients of State Department grant funding were informed of a 15-day temporary pause on all payments, effective from February 12th and applying to all current and future payments scheduled during the period.

The pause was due to expire on February 27th, but at the time of writing (4th March), no government action has been taken to lift the pause.

NAFSA Association of International Educators , the Alliance for International Exchange and the Forum of Education Abroad have joined forces in a lobbying campaign to restore the funding.

The associations said the current situation effectively suspends international education and exchange programs, including Fulbright, the Gilman Scholarship program, the IDEAS program, and the Critical Language Scholarship Program, and has “upended the lives of thousands of American students at home and abroad” as well as some scholarship recipients in the USA.

The associations have launched an advocacy campaign to restore the funding.

“The freeze on State Department grant programs threatens the survival of study abroad and international exchange programs that are essential to U.S. economic and national security,” said Fanta Aw, Executive Director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, which represents more than 10,000 industry professionals from 3,500 institutions globally.

“Halting inbound and outbound exchanges shuts the United States off from a vital flow of ideas, innovation, and global understanding and influence, creating a vacuum that could easily be filled by competing nations. These are programs for which Congress has authorized and appropriated funds. We urge Congress to use its authority to intervene. Restoring this funding immediately is absolutely in the country’s national interest.”

Mark Overmann, Executive Director of the Alliance for International Exchange, which represents more than 90 organizations involved in inbound and outbound exchange programs, said, “Paralyzing ECA-funded exchange programs endangers the health, safety, and future of the more than 12,500 Americans who are either abroad right now or soon will be and damages our relationships with current and future leaders from around the world.”

The Alliance said that it also shuts off funding for U.S. programs currently hosting more than 7,400 young people, students and professionals from around the world in American communities.

“The many U.S. organizations that support these programs and its participants are now in a dire financial position, putting thousands of American jobs and livelihoods at risk,” Mark said.

“Approximately 90 per cent of the State Department exchanges budget is spent on Americans or in America. ECA exchange programs absolutely fulfil Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s goal of making ‘America safer, stronger, and more prosperous’. Suspending them would only have the opposite effect.”

The organizations have launched an advocacy campaign and social media toolkit.