Contact is taking a holiday!

– By International Campaign for Tibet, 3 February 2025

The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) welcomes the retention of Tibet-related foreign assistance in the fiscal year 2026 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 7148), which passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Trump on February 3, 2026. The bill’s preservation of Tibet funding at the traditionally appropriated levels clearly reaffirms enduring bipartisan US support for the Tibetan people.

The bill also restores Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by funding the US Agency for Global Media, thereby reviving VOA and RFA’s essential broadcasting and reporting activities.

“ICT thanks the members of the Appropriation Committees and their staff for their dedication to supporting the Tibetan people and is glad to see that Congress remains firmly committed to providing these vital funds,” said ICT President Tencho Gyatso. “We hope to see the swift resumption of VOA and RFA Tibetan-language broadcasts. Their closure dealt a harsh blow to Tibetans in Tibet and Tibetan communities around the world, depriving them of a vital and trusted source of independent information. We also encourage Congress to sustain Tibet-related funds during the FY2027 budget process.”

The law appropriates the following amounts for Tibet-related programs:

• $10,000,000 for nongovernmental organizations with experience working with Tibetan communities to support activities which preserve cultural traditions and promote sustainable development, education, and environmental conservation in Tibet
• $8,000,000 for programs to promote and preserve Tibetan culture and language in the refugee and diaspora Tibetan communities, development, and the resilience of Tibetan communities and the Central Tibetan Administration in India and Nepal, and to assist in the education and development of the next generation of Tibetan leaders
• $5,000,000 for programs to strengthen the capacity of the Central Tibetan Administration, of which up to $1,500,000 may be made available to address economic growth and capacity building activities, including for displaced Tibetan refugee families in India and Nepal to help meet basic needs.