Get Involved in 2009!
Your congressperson sits on the subcommittee that determines the Fulbright Program's funding level.

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Last week, the House Appropriations Subcommittee members were announced, and your representative is one of the 12 people making major decisions in 2009!

"We must use what has been called 'smart power', the full range of tools at our disposal -- diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal, and cultural -- picking the right tool, or combination of tools, for each situation. With smart power, diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at her nomination hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She was confirmed as Secretary of State by a vote of 94 to 2 in the full Senate and sworn-in on Jan. 21, 2009.

Reports Show Growing Interest in Expanding Public Diplomacy Programs

• Voices of America: U.S. Public Diplomacy for the 21st Century, a recently published report by the Brookings Institution, discussed several recommendations for the new administration. Among them is a call to triple the number of Fulbright awards from 3,200 to 10,000 awards per year. Click here to read the full report.
• The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, announced in November that improving America's image abroad is on its list of 13 urgent issues in 2009. The GAO recommended a State Department-led strategy to expand and coordinate interagency public diplomacy efforts. More information on GAO reports and findings on the need to strengthen public diplomacy can be found here.
• At her Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 13, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the Foreign Relations Committee that she will place emphasis on forging new alliances and on expanding the civilian diplomatic corps. One of her top priorities will be to increase State Department funding. To read Secretary of State Clinton's opening statement, click here.

In 2008 members and staff of the Fulbright Association:

• Communicated the value of Fulbright exchanges to congress. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved
  $23 million more than the President's budget request for State-administered exchange programs.*
• Sent over 2,100 messages to elected officials.
• Went to Capitol Hill and spoke with 35 lawmakers.

* A continuing resolution maintains Fiscal Year 2008 funding levels for all foreign operations programs through March 2009.