On behalf of everyone at AFS-USA, I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your participation in advocating for the timely distribution of funding for exchange programs. Thanks to your efforts, our AFS community contributed significantly to the more than 24,000 letters sent to over 500 Congressional offices from the international exchange community. This was key to helping keep momentum moving forward on this critical issue. To view the letter and the names of those adding their signatures, click here. 

Even if your Representative chose not to sign Congresswoman Pingree’s letter, your participation helped to inform (and potentially influence) your Representative’s understanding of and positioning related to this topic since, in all likelihood, it will be a continuing discussion. 

As summarized by Mark Overmann, Executive Director of the Alliance for International Exchange, “… [Alliance] members report having received over 85% of outstanding payments that had been withheld due to the ongoing funding freeze. The payment pause has still not officially been lifted that we’re aware of – but payments began trickling through to implementing organizations over the past 10-12 days. 

Despite this progress, challenges still remain. It’ll take organizations some time to restabilize after the disruption of nearly two months without funding. And organizations need to have confidence that this new payment process will continue to work and that they can count on future funding.” 

Once again, thank you for your dedication and commitment. Together, we are making a difference for students, families, and communities across the globe. 

With deep appreciation, 

Tara Hofmann  

President & CEO 
AFS-USA