We are asking that Congress approve a $4 million increase for Title VI programs in this year’s Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill. This increase will restore funding for The Institute for International Public Policy Fellowship, a Title VI program that seeks to enhance U.S. national security and global competitiveness by preparing students from underrepresented groups for international affairs careers.

The Institute for International Public Policy Fellowship (IIPP)  has cultivated a generation of highly skilled professionals that are multilingual, socially responsible and  represent the broad spectrum of America's diversity.

Without funding, the IIPP Fellowship, which provided educational and career development opportunities for young, talented individuals for over 16 years, will end. Congress’ decision to cut this program represents an abandonment of its commitment to increasing diversity in government, especially in foreign policy.

Since its inception, IIPP has provided funding for study abroad and advanced graduate degrees to over 350 fellows. Fellows have risen to senior positions in the State Department, foreign policy think tanks, political office, international non-governmental organizations, academia, and the private sector.

Many current and former members of the U.S. State Department have recognized how critical diversity is to US foreign policy objectives and have committed their careers to increasing it. As former Secretary of State Colin Powell once said, “America overseas ought to look more like America at home.”

Letitia Long, who played a crucial role in the Bin Laden Mission in Pakistan and is Director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency has said, "What I want to accomplish is that it is natural for women and minorities to be in leadership positions across the intelligence community... I would like to be at a point where we are no longer saying,[she or he is] 'the first.'"

The U.S. government has attested to the advantages of having a more diverse work force and has actively supported these efforts for years. Tell Congress that its actions should continue to support the view that diversity is an asset to U.S. foreign policy interests.

With your help, the IIPP Fellowship will continue to provide a talent pool of well-trained, language-proficient professionals from which U.S. international affairs agencies and organizations can draw highly qualified personnel at a time when diversity is proving to be a great asset to U.S. foreign policy interests.