State Department takes over study-abroad programs from Education Department.
H.R. 9603 — Less Bureaucracy, Better International Education Oversight Act · Filed by Joe Wilson (R-SC) · Introduced Jul 9, 2026 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill moves study-abroad programs to the State Department. The programs include Fulbright-Hays and Title VI study-abroad work. The bill stops the Institute for Public Policy program. All staff, money, and power move to State within 6 months.
Who it affects
Students who want to study abroad are affected. U.S. schools that run study-abroad programs are affected. People from groups that were left out lose one specific program.
One thing to notice
The bill stops the Institute for Public Policy program with no replacement. The State Department cannot hire more workers, which may force job cuts.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Jul 9, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 9, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Foreign Affairs and House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs…”
- Jul 15, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Jul 15, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 20 - 16”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- Fulbright-Hays — A program that helps students and teachers study and teach in other countries.
- Title VI study-abroad work — Federal programs that help schools teach about world languages and cultures.
- Institute for Public Policy program — A program that helped students from left-out groups get jobs in world affairs.
- State Department — The federal office that handles relations with other countries.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (8,819 characters) on Jul 25, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,522 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-22.
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