Act Now! Tell Congress to reject President’s budget proposal to defund ECA

Act Now! Tell Congress to reject President’s budget proposal to defund ECA

Released this past Friday, the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget proposal would essentially eliminate State Department international exchange programs slated to begin in the 26-27 cycle. I need you to write to your members of Congress now and tell them to reject this budget proposal!

Use this letter-generator tool created by the Alliance for International Exchange to write to your members of Congress in less than five minutes. Please customize your messages to Congress with specific examples of how exchanges positively impact your school, family, organization, and community. 

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Why your voice matters: 

This FY26 “skinny” budget proposes to cut State Department international exchange programs by $691 million, or by 93%. Given the current budget is $741 million, this would leave only $50 million for all ECA programs and operations. 

If Congress enacts this budget proposal, it would decimate and essentially eliminate the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).  It would leave international exchange programs, organizations, and the jobs of more than 8,000 exchange professionals around the country at extreme risk—while also denying thousands of American young people and communities the opportunity to engage directly in citizen diplomacy. 

AFS-USA needs your voice! Tell Congress to reject this proposal and fully fund international exchanges. 

How you can help: 

In addition to writing to your representatives, please share this call to action widely across your networks, including on social media. Please reshare our recent post or post directly using this template

As always, thank you for your continued support, 

Tara Hofmann 
CEO and President 
AFS-USA