In a podcast (in German) on the German government website, Chancellor Angela Merkel discusses current transatlantic issues, including her concern over funding cuts to the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) program. Katherine Lindemann, a political science student from Maine who is currently studying at Humboldt University in Berlin, conducted the interview.
The President’s FY16 budget, released earlier today (see pages 31-33), requests $623.079 million for Department of State international exchange programs, a 5.6 per cent increase over current levels—a robust number in difficult budget times, and a concrete sign of the Obama administration’s support of exchanges.
Alumni of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) program have launched a “Save CBYX” campaign, in response to the decision to cut funding for the program by 50% for the 2015-2016 program year, the Atlantic Review reports. Through the campaign, alumni are “asking all supporters to sign an online petition appealing to the State Department to reverse its decision.”