⇒ A policy briefing on “Language Learning in a Global Age” focused on the fact that Americans lag far behind their global peers in foreign language skills, and strongly argued that this trend must be reversed.

► Ann Stock was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.

• The House Agriculture Committee passed a bill that would end the ban on travel to Cuba and potentially open the island again as a study abroad destination for American students.

• The Alliance issued two action alerts this week: 1) to urge your Senators and Representatives to fund exchanges at $675 million in FY 2011 (take action here); and 2) to ask Congress to help eliminate a prohibition of single parent host families of exchange students (take action here).  There is still time to take action on both of these alerts! Using the Alliance’s sample letters, it takes but a few minutes to contact your entire Congressional delegation. (And while the House has already set its own FY 2011 mark for exchanges [see next item], there is still time to contact your Senators and urge them to fund exchanges at $675 million.)

⇒ In NAFSA conference-related news, the Kansas City Star editorial board called for more international exchanges (taking note of the 7,000-plus international education and exchange professionals who descended on its city), while the Chronicle of Higher Education and InsideHigherEd.com both covered some of the various sessions convened and issues discussed throughout the NAFSA gathering.

⇒ The Alliance sent out an Action Alert urging members to contact their Senators and ask them to sign on to a letter supporting full funding of the President’s $58.8 billion FY 2011 International Affairs Budget request.

⇒ On Monday the Alliance moved! Please note our new address and make the appropriate change in your address books and databases:

1828 L Street, NW, Suite 1150
Washington, DC 20036

⇒ A proposed rule with request for comment with regard to the Department of State Exchange Visitor Program secondary school category appeared in Monday’s Federal Register. The comment period is only 30 days, and the Alliance is already seeking input from members in order to draft a comment letter.

⇒ “Icy” diplomatic relations with Iran make it difficult for Farsi learners to hone their language skills abroad, the Washington Post reported. Dan Davidson, president of the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, noted in the article that Russian language learners faced similar difficulties during the Cold War—and that once diplomatic relations between the U.S.

⇒ Lawmakers in both the House and the Senate, and on both sides of the aisle, supported full funding for President Obama’s FY 2011 international affairs budget request—only to see Budget Committee chair Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) cut that request by 7 per cent.