CALL TO ACTION: Urge Your Elected Officials to Support Educational and Cultural Exchange

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Write to your elected officials directly from this page.

Your outreach is critical to securing funding for the 2027 year and building legislative support for international exchange programs that benefit both our country and our state.


New International Exchanges Caucus: Urge your Members of Congress to Join

A new bipartisan Congressional International Exchanges Caucus was announced on May 13, co-chaired by U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), and U.S. Representatives Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ-2) and Ami Bera (D-CA-6), with inaugural endorsement from our partners at the Alliance for International Exchange.The goal of the caucus is to bolster engagement and support for international exchange programs, particularly those administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

We invite you to contact your Senators and Representatives today to encourage them to join the new Congressional International Exchanges Caucus.

This is a great way for your Members of Congress to show support for vital public diplomacy tools like the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and reinforce the longstanding bipartisan support in Congress for the work of the Global Ties Network.

To keep the outreach strategic and avoid duplicative messaging, please do not contact elected officials that are already members of the caucus. This includes the four caucus chairs and all members listed on the Alliance’s caucus member tracker HERE.


Secure Funding for Exchange Programs and IVLP in FY 2027

The Senate is now focused on FY2027 appropriations, and May and June offer a key window for advocacy as the process moves forward.

On the House side, the House Appropriations Committee has recommended $647 million for the Educational and Cultural Exchange (ECE) budget, a 3% decrease from FY2026 funding levels, which is encouraging given the proposed much larger cuts to the overall international affairs budget and to other programs within it. The accompanying report language in the House directs steady / flat funding for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) at $99.75 million, showing continued bipartisan support for our work in the Global Ties Network.

As the Senate Appropriations Committee begins its hearings and looks ahead to mark up its funding bill in June, you can send a message to your Senator directly from this page, expressing support for $700.95 million for the Educational and Cultural Exchange (ECE) budget, including $99.75 million for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and maintaining IVLP as a dedicated line item in the budget.

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