Following last year’s surprise funding cuts that rattled the international education sector, the proposed FY26 exchange program funding allocation of USD $667 million marks a significant step toward restoring stability, experts and stakeholders said. The funding level was put forward by the House Appropriations Committee and is being closely watched by exchange organisations after months of uncertainty.
While the proposed FY26 exchange program funding remains below the USD
$741 million enacted in FY24 and the USD $700.95 million included in last
summer’s House bill, sector leaders say the allocation sends a strong signal of
congressional support for educational and cultural exchanges.
Christian Sandberg, an international education advisor, said,
"After a lot of uncertainty lately, this is good news and feels like a
meaningful signal from Congress."
Sandberg stressed that the FY26 exchange program funding is important
for more than just the amount of money it will cost. "It's not just about
money; it's also about recognizing the value of exchange programs and giving
the field more predictability to plan around," he said. Exchange programs
usually have long planning cycles, so they need steady sources of funding to
stay in business.
Oversight Measures Strengthened in FY26 Bill
A key feature of the proposed FY26 exchange program funding is the
inclusion of strengthened oversight language. This language sets clearer
expectations for how funds are allocated and restricts the executive branch’s
ability to delay or repurpose funding without congressional involvement.
"Congress gives money, and the executive branch is in charge of
spending it. This language makes it harder to hold or repurpose exchange
funding without involving Congress," Sandberg said.
The international exchange sector was shocked last summer when the
government suddenly canceled $100 million worth of educational and cultural
exchange grants that Congress had already approved. That incident made people
more worried about how reliable federal support is. The FY26 exchange program
funding bill seems to be meant to address these worries.
Mark Overmann, executive director of the Alliance for International
Exchange, says that the FY26 law has completely new language about how to
divide things up.
The proposed FY26 exchange program funding framework says that money for
exchange programs run by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)
must be divided up within 60 days of the bill's passage.
Overmann said, "In my mind, this is a direct response to the
withholding of awards that we saw in 2025." He also said that the language
is meant to keep program operations from being disrupted in the future.
Another notable shift in FY26 exchange program funding is the explicit
mention of major exchange initiatives in the bill. Unlike in previous years,
the International Visitor Leadership Program, the Gilman Scholarship, and the
Young Leaders Initiatives are named alongside the Fulbright Program.
Overmann said this explicit inclusion signals the high value Congress
places on ensuring these initiatives receive their allocated FY26 exchange
program funding without delays. “It’s a clear indication that lawmakers want
these programs protected,” he said.
People who have a stake in the FY26 exchange program funding package
have also liked that the talks were bipartisan. Sandberg pointed out that the
deal was made in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. He called it
"a meaningful signal of broad support for exchange programs."
Support from both parties is seen as essential for long-term stability
in a sector that depends on the federal government being involved all the time.
The Senate is now
expected to vote on the bill, but it's not clear when that will happen. The
FY26 exchange program funding package would, if approved, make sure that the
Department of State and its ECA exchange programs have money through September
30, 2026.
For now, the leaders of
the exchange programs are cautiously hopeful that the proposed funding for the
FY26 exchange program will bring about the stability needed to restore trust,
make good plans, and keep moving forward with the educational and diplomatic
goals of US exchange programs around the world.
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