[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 13013-13014]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   CONGRESS-BUNDESTAG YOUTH EXCHANGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, since 1983, tens of 
thousands of students have participated in the Congress-Bundestag Youth 
Exchange, or CBYX, program with Germany. This program allows young 
professionals from both the United States and Germany to spend a year 
abroad to intern and study a different culture while living with a host 
family.
  During their experience, students from both countries develop a 
better understanding of foreign cultures and expand their knowledge and 
leadership potential exponentially. This fellowship provides extensive 
language training, strong courses of study at foreign universities, and 
the opportunity to be fully immersed in another culture, thereby 
culminating in a very unique experience.
  Members of the German-Bundestag hold this program in especially high 
esteem as they hand select their nominees and build very strong 
personal relationships with them. While Members of the United States 
Congress are not as involved in the selection process of American 
participants, the American equivalent would include the prestige that 
congressional nominations for military academies carry.
  Over the years, this program has shown tremendous success in 
fostering a stronger relationship between the United States and 
Germany, which is why I was particularly disappointed to see the 
Department of State cut its funding by half in 2015. These reductions 
of CBYX came despite Congress' continued bipartisan support over this 
program for decades.
  To prevent the collapse of this program altogether, Germany 
graciously closed the gap in 2015 by authorizing additional funds to 
negate the funding cuts that the U.S. had implemented. However, they 
maintained this was not something that they would be able to continue, 
and without the U.S. restoring funding, the continuation of this 
program was in jeopardy.
  To further emphasize the significance of CBYX, German Chancellor 
Angela Merkel highlighted her disappointment in the funding cuts to 
President Obama during her visit to the United States in 2015. During 
those deliberations, she said:

       We were not pleased . . . because we very much value this 
     partnership program. And I believe that all of those who 
     participated as young people have also had unforgettable 
     experiences. Especially now, 25 years after German 
     unification, we want to continue this program. Given the fact 
     that there are no longer as many American soldiers 
     experiencing Germany as in the past, it is even more 
     important that young people learn as much as possible from 
     one another.

  In fact, the State Department's own U.S. Advisory Commission on 
Public Diplomacy countered the cutbacks during its 2014 annual report. 
In it, the Commission is quoted as saying:

       We believe that it is against our interest to invest less 
     in our relations with the German public at a critical time 
     when facing dual threats from Russia and countering violent 
     extremism in Europe, while also trying to secure the 
     Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement with 
     the European Union . . . the cutback of U.S. investment in 
     the Congress-Bundestag exchange also sends a strong message 
     to the German public and government that the U.S. does not 
     value the relationship with a critical ally whose public is 
     increasingly skeptical of the United States.

  In response, the House German-American Caucus and those concerned 
about the prospect of the CBYX program being placed at a disadvantage, 
voiced our frustrations with both Secretary Kerry and our House 
colleagues to raise awareness and demand the restoration of full 
funding for CBYX. I was pleased that this effort amassed bipartisan 
support throughout the House.
  Further, the House Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and 
Related Agencies conveyed their concern in June 2015 by adding the 
following language:

       This program is integral for the continuation of a strong 
     relationship between the United States and Germany . . . the 
     committee does not support the proposed program reduction.

  Ultimately, the committee included language to restore funding for 
fiscal year 2016. While this was good news,

[[Page 13014]]

the root of the problem still fell within the State Department's lack 
of support.
  On July 17, 2015, the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, John Emerson, 
contacted the German Bundestag to emphasize the vital importance of 
this program and relayed the State Department's reversal on this issue 
and their decision to restore full funding for CBYX.
  As co-chairman of the Congressional German-American Caucus, I was 
ecstatic to hear this news, and I am pleased that the United States is 
holding up our end in strengthening ties with our great European ally. 
Many thanks to the nonprofit exchange organizations here in the U.S. 
who administer CBYX, such as Cultural Vistas, AFS, Youth for 
Understanding, CIEE, ASSE, FLAG, and Nacel Open Door. They are 
important partners in the success of the CBYX program.
  I would also like to thank my co-chair from across the aisle, 
Congressman Keating, for the great efforts he showed throughout this 
process as well. This is a great step forward towards continuing our 
participation in this program and educating our future leaders through 
such an important fellowship.

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