Exchange Programs Highlighted During Senate Hearing on FY2018 State Department Budget

Educational and cultural exchange programs were mentioned twice during a hearing of the Senate State-Foreign Operations (SFOPS) Appropriations Subcommittee this week. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared before the committee to review the administration’s FY2018 budget request for the U.S. Department of State. During their questioning of the Secretary, Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Chris Coons (D-DE) both attested to the positive impact of exchange programs and asked the Secretary to reconsider the steep funding cuts to people-to-people exchanges proposed by the administration for the next fiscal year.Speaking specifically about the Fulbright program, Senator Boozman noted:

“As an Arkansan and someone who believes you change the world through engagement, the Fulbright program has been something that we’re proud of in the state of Arkansas. We’re talking about a 47% overall cut there. I wish that would be something that you look at, too. [A number of years ago] I was in Israel and visiting with the Finance Minister from Palestine and it turned out that he had been to summer school at the University of Arkansas. Went on and finished up at the University of Texas…Those things are so so very valuable.”

Secretary Tillerson responded by saying:

“We see the Fulbright program as extremely valuable as well … Our reduction in the budget … we understand it will have an impact. What we want to do is to the extent that we can help in attracting more private donations to support the program and perhaps begin to attract donations from countries who have benefited from the Fulbright program as well. So, it’s not in any way an indication of our view of the value of that program.”

Noting that cutting exchange program funding in half is not a choice he himself would have made, Senator Coons highlighted the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) as a program with a significant positive impact:

“We have people to people programs like the Fulbright scholarships that have had a big positive impact and that elevate the reputation we enjoy in the world … The Young African Leaders Initiative is a relatively modest in-scope program that has had a big impact. I thought it was not the choice I would have made to cut all the educational and cultural exchange programs in half, and YALI would be one of them. I hope you will reconsider that because I think these are powerful programs that connect us to parts of the world where we benefit from a positive relationship and that next generation of leaders.”