FY24 Appropriations Recap and Outlook
With the end of the Fiscal Year quickly approaching on September 30, Congress is racing to finish its work on the FY24 appropriations bills before heading out on August recess next week.
Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have completed their subcommittee and full committee markups of their respective State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) bills in recent weeks. Educational and cultural exchanges were funded at $700.95M (approx. 10% decrease) by the House bill and $779.5M (approx. 0.25% increase) by the Senate bill. See the chart below for more details and a comparison with the President’s budget request and current enacted level.
Here are the key things you need to know:
We know from the details available that notable cuts in the House bill impact Professional and Cultural Exchanges, including the International Visitor Leadership Program. The bill also includes a slight decrease for Academic Programs, but outlines increases for Young Leaders Initiatives.
On the other hand, the Senate bill holds Professional and Cultural Exchanges steady, and provides increases to Exchanges Support and the American Spaces program. However, it also includes cuts to the Academic Programs topline.
The funding cuts in the House bill, while disappointing, are not unexpected given the change in majority, debt ceiling deal, and concessions made by Speaker McCarthy in his campaign for the role. We are heartened by the slight increase in the Senate bill, which is a win in this difficult climate.
There will be a challenging road ahead to find a compromise between these two bills. In the 11 legislative days after the upcoming August recess and before the end of the fiscal year, lawmakers must overcome not only the divide over funding in the bills, but also pressure from House Republicans for even more cuts and a desire to pass each of the twelve appropriations bills individually.
These appropriations bills remind us of how important our collective advocacy was this cycle in avoiding severe cuts in this particularly tight funding environment. They also demonstrate the long journey to reach our funding goals and therefore, how we must keep up the pressure and not become complacent after the past number of years with steady increases.
Resources:
House bill text (pg. 4 for ECE funding level), report (pg. 18 for detailed budget table), press release
Senate bill text (pg. 8 for ECE funding level), report (pg. 20 for detailed budget table), press release
FY23 Adjusted Enacted FY24 Biden Administration Request FY24 House Bill FY24 Senate Bill Total 777.5 M 783.7 M 700.95 M 779.5 M Academic Programs 389,639 381,766 387,274 373,939 Fulbright Program 287,500 282,250 287,500 287,800 Madeleine K. Albright Young Women Leaders Program 1500 1,500 1,500 Global Academic Exchanges 63,981 62,702 63,981 Special Academic Exchanges 22,158 18,875 22,133 22,158 Benjamin Gilman International Scholarship Program 17,000 16,200 17,000 17,000 South Pacific Scholarships 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 Vietnam Education Foundation Act 2,500 2,500 Tibet Fund 675 700 675 Professional and Cultural Exchanges 227,500 222,515 185,759 227,500 International Visitor Program 105,000 102,627 100,151 105,000 Citizen Exchanges Program 115,000 113,388 115,000 Congress-Bundestag Exchange Program 4,125 4,125 Special Professional and Cultural Exchanges 7,000 6,500 7500 Ngwang Choephel Fellows 750 750 750 750 J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange 6,000 5,000 6,000 Arctic Exchange Program 750 750 750 750 Special Initiatives 66,814 49,100 55,500 Young Leaders Initiatives 37,500 48,814 43,100 37,500 Countering State Disinformation and Pressure 12,000 12,000 12,000 Community Engagement Exchange Program 6,000 6,000 6,000 Pawel Adamowicz Exchange Program 1,000 1,000 1,000 Program and Performance 15,800 13,530 13,500 Exchanges Support 89,061 99,090 92,100 American Spaces 16,000 14,939 17,000