The East-West Center has cleared a crucial early hurdle in the federal budget process, with a U.S. House spending bill proposing $16.7 million in funding for the Hawaii-based institution — despite the White House having recommended zero dollars for the center next year.
The amount appears in the House Appropriations Committee’s first draft of the fiscal year 2026 State and Foreign Operations spending bill, which was recently approved by a subcommittee.
The $16.7 million now proposed by the House subcommittee mirrors the funding level the center received several years ago, before its annual appropriation rose to $22 million. Still, the appropriation is far from final.
“My House Appropriations Committee majority’s first draft of the Fiscal Year 2026 federal spending measure covering the East-West Center includes a proposed $16.7 million for the Center,” U.S. Rep. Ed Case told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a written statement. “This is a reduction from current funding levels but is nonetheless good news considering that the President’s proposed budget was zero funding.”
Case has made restoring and preserving federal support for the East-West Center a priority. He emphasized the institution’s role in promoting diplomacy and research across the Asia-Pacific region.
“I have ranked full funding for the Center at the very top of my annual requests to my committee because I believe not only in the Center’s invaluable work but in what it represents for Hawaii’s central role in the Asia-Pacific and in the broader benefits that bring high-quality … jobs (to Hawaii) and to our overall economy,” he said. “Though we still have a long way to go this appropriations year, I’m grateful that my House colleagues have again favorably considered my request.”
A spokesperson from the East-West Center, in a statement to the Star-Advertiser, expressed appreciation for the House appropriations subcommittee’s decision to include funding in its draft federal budget, viewing it as acknowledgment of the center’s significant role in strengthening U.S. ties with the Indo-Pacific region.
“We are thankful to all those who have advocated on the Center’s behalf, but we know this is just one step in the long and complex appropriations process,” the spokesperson said. “We will continue to monitor events closely, but it is too soon to speculate on what this may ultimately mean for the Center’s fiscal outlook.”
Established by Congress in 1960, the East-West Center is a Honolulu-based institution that promotes understanding and collaboration among Asia-Pacific and U.S. communities through research, education, and professional exchange programs. Its funding is authorized under the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West Act of 1960.
Federal budget negotiations typically begin with the president’s proposed budget, but final funding levels are determined by Congress through a complex and often prolonged appropriations process. The House and Senate each draft their own versions of spending bills, which must then be reconciled and approved by both chambers before being signed by the president.
While the subcommittee’s action provides some encouragement for East-West Center advocates, observers caution that any optimism must be tempered not only by the many procedural steps still ahead, but also by the recent history of gridlock on Capitol Hill.
In recent years, Congress has repeatedly failed to pass full-year appropriations bills on time, instead relying on short-term continuing resolutions to avoid government shutdowns.
These stopgap measures often leave funding levels frozen and uncertain, and comprehensive budget negotiations have increasingly been delayed or derailed by partisan disagreements, leadership battles and high-stakes standoffs over unrelated issues.
As a result, even widely supported programs can find themselves in prolonged limbo—making it difficult to predict how much funding, if any, the East-West Center will ultimately receive.
Source: The Garden Island