U.S. House Proposal Targets Data on Fulbright, YES, FLEX Amid China Influence Push
Washington, D.C. — A new House bill would require the U.S. State Department to regularly report how many people take part in American educational and cultural exchange programs—and compare those figures with participation in similar programs backed by China.
H.R. 6428, introduced Dec. 4 by Reps. Ami Bera of California and Joe Wilson of South Carolina, was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
If enacted, the measure would direct the Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress within 180 days and every five years thereafter. The report would include country-by-country participation counts for exchange programs sponsored or funded by the People’s Republic of China, alongside participation in specified U.S. programs.
The bill lists major U.S. exchanges such as the Fulbright Program, the Young African Leaders Initiative (including the Mandela Washington Fellowship), the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program, and the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program—a set that includes opportunities tied to high school–age participants as well as older students and emerging leaders.
Beyond headcounts, the proposal calls for program-by-program details including U.S. funding levels, number of cohorts, participant ages and countries of origin, and survey-style measures such as whether participants report more favorable views of the U.S. government and a stronger understanding of U.S. culture and democratic values.
What parents should know: families interested in youth exchanges like YES or FLEX may want to track whether Congress uses these reports to guide future program expansion, targeting, or oversight.
Next steps: the bill must move through committee consideration before any House vote; families can monitor progress via Congress.gov.
This article was produced by an education parenting today journalist with the assistance of AI. This is not legal advice. All content is reviewed for accuracy and fairness.
