By Adrienne Jacobs
This week in Washington began abuzz, first with rumors and speculation about a damaging memo possibly coming from the Department of State, and then real alarm when The Washington Post published a piece about a memo that was leaked to them proposing to slash the agency’s funding by nearly half, including the elimination of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). The coverage of this memo has been breathless and dire. We at the Alliance saw the full memo, and it is very concerning.
What the press only mentions as a footnote, though, is this: the leaked memo is a step in the beginning of the very long process that exists to write, authorize, and appropriate the federal funding legislation. The memo in and of itself has no immediate or tangible impact on the Department of State, ECA, or Alliance members’ programs. Below is an overview of the long, arcane, and complex process that explains why this memo is nothing more than a memo right now.
“Regular Order”, a.k.a. the way things should be done and aren’t
The Congressional budget process was established under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, and that process takes place after the President’s Budget Request (PBR) is submitted to Congress. Below is a chart that outlines what the “regular order” of the federal budget process should look like each year.
| On or before: | Action to be completed: |
| October-December | Federal agencies create budget requests and submit them to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) |
| OMB refers to the agencies’ requests as it develops the budget proposal for the president. | |
| First Monday in February | The president submits the budget request (PBR) to Congress. |
| February 15 | Congressional Budget Office (CBO) submits report to House and Senate Budget Committees. |
| Within 6 weeks after the PBR is submitted | Authorizing committees submit views and estimates to Budget Committees for each federal agency. House and Senate Budget Committees hold hearings on the PBR. |
| April 1 | Senate Budget Committee reports concurrent resolution on the budget, which outlines targets for congressional committees to propose legislation directly appropriating funds or changing spending and tax laws. The budget resolution is not law and does not get signed by the President. |
| April 15 | Congress completes action on the budget resolution, meaning the House and Senate agree on exact text language. |
| May – June | House and Senate complete action on 12 appropriations bills guided by the targets outlined in the budget resolution. These bills do become law by going to the president for signature. Appropriations bills are the vehicle through which federal agencies receive funding. |
| October 1 | Fiscal Year begins |
Source: House Budget Committee: https://budget.house.gov/about/budget-framework/time-table-budget-process/; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/introduction-to-the-federal-budget-process
Since the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was passed, Congress was able to complete this process for the first 23 years, however since 1999, they have failed to complete it the majority of the time. As Congress become more polarized, agreement on any legislation, but especially appropriations, has become more difficult. In 42 of the last 45 years, Congress has failed to agree on and pass appropriations bills by the start of the fiscal years. [1] In these instances, Congress is forced to pass short-term stopgap funding in the form of a Continuing Resolution (CR), or they put all 12 appropriations bills into one giant omnibus legislation to fund the full government or risk a government shutdown (which has happened several times). As might be clear at this point: neither of these processes for funding the government that have become the norm are considered “regular order” per the Congressional Budget Act.
What does the President’s Budget Request really mean?
What does all of this have to do with the leaked memo? The memo represents what seems like a draft for the first step in the above chart where federal agencies create budget requests to submit to OMB. However, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding this memo, including whether it is in fact the Department of State’s actual budget request for FY26. Subsequent reporting has noted that the memo is not expected to “pass muster with either the department’s leadership or Congress”. [2]
The president’s budget request in any given year is simply an overview of an Administration’s priorities and values. Congress can take it, take portions of it, or take none of it as they work through their own process to appropriate and authorize the federal agencies and programs. More often than not, Congress goes against the PBR during their appropriations process. It’s important to remember that the previous Trump Administration’s proposed budgets for ECA were cuts of anywhere from 55-75%. These were all rejected by Congress and funding for exchanges ended up growing by 17% over those four years. While a funding increase for ECA is not expected, it’s important to take heart that Congress has the final say on funding the federal government.
Because the appropriations process is so broken (often ending in an omnibus or Continuing Resolution), and the legislative filibuster still exists, bipartisan agreement, at least in the Senate, is required to pass any kind of legislation to fund the government. Additionally, the House ultimately has to agree with whatever the Senate passes for it to go to the president to become law.
All of that is to say, bipartisan support continues to exist for the Department of State, for ECA, and for international exchange programs writ large. Terminating ECA and eliminating all exchange programs is very unlikely to get the bipartisan support required to become law.
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[1] Center for Budget Policy and Priorities, https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/introduction-to-the-federal-budget-process
[2] PBS news, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-state-department-briefing-may-address-proposed-budget-cuts-el-salvador-deportations