On May 7, 2025, GCE-US and 21 of its members and partners sent a letter to congressional appropriators regarding FY26 funding for International Basic Education.
May 7, 2025
Dear Chairman Graham, Ranking Member Schatz, Chairman Diaz-Balart, Ranking Member Frankel,
On behalf of the international basic education community, we express our condolences on the loss of your colleague, former Chairwoman Nita Lowey, who was a steadfast champion for education around the world. Because of Chairwoman Lowey, millions of young people were given opportunities to thrive, and we are forever grateful.
We appreciate your continued bipartisan commitment to improving education around the world by including $922 million for International Basic Education in the fiscal year 2024 House State, Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies (SFOPS) bill, which was extended by the Continuing Resolution passed on March 14, 2025.
In recognition of the fact that international basic education programs make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous, we urge you to provide $970 million for the Nita M. Lowey Basic Education Fund, including $150 million for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), and $30.4 million for Education Cannot Wait (ECW).
Access to quality education reduces poverty, supports future trade partners, improves the global economy, bolsters peace and security, and strengthens public health.
Safer: Research shows that increasing access to education reduces political violence and conflict. Doubling the percentage of youth with secondary education can cut the risk of conflict in half, and secondary education can reduce the likelihood of young people supporting political violence by 48%.
Stronger: Support for education programs strengthens U.S. reputation abroad, particularly in areas with large populations of children and youth. Africa has the youngest and fastest-growing population in the world. American engagement on the continent is critical to ensure that future generations look to America as the global leader, not China, Russia, or other adversaries. As American foreign assistance programs end, China and others are already filling the gaps, aligning future generations with their policies and priorities and securing China’s access to critical natural resources.
More Prosperous: Education programs have approximately a 10% return on investment. For every additional year of schooling, hourly wages in adulthood increase by 9%. Every $1 invested in girls’ education generates as much as $2.80 in return, equating to billions of dollars in additional GDP growth. A stronger global economy creates markets for U.S. exports and builds strong trade partners. Eleven out of 15 of America’s top trading partners were once recipients of foreign aid.
Support for initiatives such as the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Education Cannot Wait (ECW) complements U.S. investments and leverages additional resources for education programs. GPE is a public-private partnership focused on ensuring a more effective and efficient response to the global education challenge. GPE supports 90 lower-income partner countries to develop their own pathways to transform their education systems. ECW, the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, provides refugees, internally displaced persons, and other affected populations with comprehensive and context-specific assistance to access learning opportunities. Since its inception, ECW has reached 11.4 million children and trained over 188,000 teachers in crisis affected countries/contexts.
It is a critical time to invest in international education: 251 million children are out of school globally, and three out of four children in low- to middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple text. One in six children live in areas affected by conflict, and nearly half of all refugee children were out of school in 2024. Providing educational opportunities for these children and youth will provide a pathway for them to respect and admire the U.S. and its values, avoid political conflicts, and support their countries’ trade partnership with America.
To create a world where American children can be safe and prosperous, we must preserve and support international basic education programs by providing $970 million for the Nita M. Lowey Basic Education Fund, including $150 million for GPE and $30.4 million for ECW in fiscal year 2026. We greatly appreciate your consideration of our request.
Sincerely,
American Jesuits International
Basic Education Coalition
Building Tomorrow
Childhood Education International
ChildFund International
Child Labor Coalition
Child Partnership
First Focus on Children
Girls Learn International
Global Campaign for Education-US
Global March Against Child Labour
iAct
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA
National Consumers League
Opportunity International
RESULTS
Right to Play USA
Rukmini Foundation
She’s the First
Street Child US
The Borgen Project
World Learning