As of Friday, March 28, Alliance members have received over 85% of outstanding State Department payments that had been withheld due to the ongoing funding freeze. This is a major victory in an advocacy effort that began when on Thursday, February 13 when the State Department informed grantees that a temporary 15-day pause on federal funding for all current and future State Department FY25 grant disbursements had gone into effect as of Wednesday, February 12.
In response, the Alliance, along with NAFSA and The Forum on Education Abroad, launched an advocacy campaign urging Congress to restore funding to ECA program implementers. Exchange champions sent 25,000+ letters to more than 500 Congressional offices.
Just days after the campaign launch, 160 Alliance members went to Capitol Hill to meet with over 140 Congressional offices on Advocacy Day, delivering the same urgent message.
These meetings led to a House sign on letter co-sponsored by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME, 1) and Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA, 4) with 47 signatures urging Secretary of State Rubio to immediately stop the freeze.
We also generated strong media attention in major outlets like the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Associated Press.