The FY2026 “skinny” budget, released on May 2, proposes to cut State Department international exchange programs by 93%, leading to the near total decimation of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), if enacted by Congress.
“We expected it, but it’s still deeply disappointing to see… The proposal demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of exchange programs and would do the exact opposite of making America safer, stronger and more prosperous,” said Mark Overmann, executive director of the Alliance for International Exchange.
As of May 8, almost 12,000 stakeholders have rallied behind the Alliance’s campaign urging members of Congress to support funding for international exchange, which will see cuts of USD$691 million – impacting 8,000 jobs – if the budget is implemented.
Overmann reminded stakeholders that, at this stage, the proposals are the President’s “wish list” and are not binding. “The previous Trump administration proposed to cut ECA for four consecutive years, anywhere from 55-75%. These proposals were all rejected by congress,” he said.
Currently, the ECA’s budget is USD$741m, so the cuts would leave the bureau with just USD$50m to fund all its exchange initiatives, including its flagship Fulbright program, the Gilman Scholarship, the IDEAs Program and many more.
The administration’s rationale for the cuts – that exchanges are “inefficient”, “wasteful” to the taxpayer and can’t be afforded – have been strongly disputed by the Alliance, which said the claims “couldn’t be further from the truth”.
The proposal demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of exchange programs
Mark Overmann, Alliance for International Exchange
The President’s Budget Proposal document also states that there is “fraud” in the implementation of the programs, which stakeholders have strongly refuted, emphasising that exchange initiatives are some of the most monitored programs in the government.
Based on the State Department’s own calculations, 90%, or USD$660m, of the agency’s exchange program budget is spent on American’s travelling abroad or by international participants while in America: “This is one of the best returns on investment across the entire federal government,” according to Overmann.
Last month, the ECA survived secretary of state Marco Rubio’s State Department reshuffle, but with the FY2026 budget on the horizon, few found cause for celebration at the time.
Sector leaders have urged colleauges to continue their advocacy, highlighting the successful campaign by NAFSA and the Alliance in March, which generated over 25,000 letters to Congress and saw the gradual thawing of a State Department funding freeze on exchange programs.
