Nearly $70 million in funding for international education and foreign language programs is at stake under the Trump administration’s latest rescissions package, submitted to Congress just days before the end of the fiscal year.
The timing left lawmakers little opportunity to act on the request before the funding expired, a tactic known as a “pocket rescission.” In a
Sept. 30 letter to congressional leaders, ACE and five other higher education associations called on Congress to reverse the rescission and take steps to prevent similar efforts in the future.
The $810 million fiscal year 2026 rescissions package continues a pattern of efforts to “change, terminate, and restructure programs that have been authorized and appropriated by Congress,” the groups wrote.
The package includes $70 million for International Education and Foreign Language Studies (IEFLS) Domestic Programs at the Department of Education. Congress had appropriated $70.4 million for the programs, which provide grants to colleges and universities to strengthen foreign language and international studies and increase the number of Americans with expertise in those areas.
“These programs serve a critical role in ensuring that America has sufficient expertise in areas vital to our national security and ability to compete globally,” the associations wrote.
The rescission request came after the Department of Education had already renamed its international education programs, entered into an interagency agreement with the Department of State, and held a grant competition in June.
Inside Higher Ed reported that approximately $69.6 million of the $70.4 million Congress provided for the domestic international education programs was set to expire at the end of the fiscal year. The programs have historically supported instruction in less commonly taught languages and helped develop expertise important to diplomacy, national security, international business, and other fields.
The latest action also follows funding disruptions for international education programs in fiscal year 2025, when previously appropriated funds were redirected to other grant programs, according to Inside Higher Ed.
The Government Accountability Office concluded Sept. 29 that the administration could not use the rescission request to withhold the appropriated funds through the end of the fiscal year. Under the Impoundment Control Act, funding proposed for rescission must be made available for obligation unless Congress acts to rescind it, GAO said.
ACE and the other associations said the broader concern is the growing uncertainty created when an administration terminates, redirects, or withholds money that Congress has already approved. They called on lawmakers to work to reverse the rescission and establish greater stability in the federal funding process.
Joining ACE on the letter are the American Association of Community Colleges, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Association of American Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.