VOA, RFA Tibetan Services Set for Resumption as Congress Approves $23M Tibet Aid Package
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 4 Feb: The US has restored Tibet-related foreign assistance under the FY2026 Consolidated Appropriations Act, allocating $23 million for Tibetan cultural, refugee, and institutional support programs despite the Trump administration’s broader push to scale back US foreign aid.
The funding, preserved at traditionally appropriated levels, includes support for Tibetan cultural preservation, refugee and diaspora communities, and institutional capacity-building for the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in India and Nepal. The legislation passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Donald Trump on 3 February.
Under the law, $10 million is allocated to nongovernmental organizations working with Tibetan communities to preserve cultural traditions and promote education, sustainable development, and environmental conservation in Tibet. An additional $8 million is designated in the budget for programs promoting and preserving Tibetan culture and language in refugee and diaspora communities, strengthening Tibetan institutions, including the Central Tibetan Administration in India and Nepal, and supporting the education and leadership development of the next generation of Tibetans.
A further $5 million is allocated to strengthen the capacity of the Central Tibetan Administration, including targeted assistance of up to $1,500,000 for economic growth and capacity building activities, including for displaced Tibetan refugee families in India and Nepal to help meet basic needs.
The preservation of Tibet-specific funding comes amid heightened uncertainty surrounding US foreign assistance, following President Trump’s earlier efforts to scale back USAID programs and broader international engagement. Retaining the budget at historically appropriated levels is widely viewed as a reaffirmation of enduring bipartisan U.S. support for the Tibetan people.
In a statement on the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) website, Tencho Gyatso, president of the ICT, welcomed the legislation and said, “ICT thanks the members of the Appropriations Committees and their staff for their dedication to supporting the Tibetan people and is pleased to see that Congress remains firmly committed to providing these vital funds”.
She added, “the bill’s preservation of Tibet funding at traditionally appropriated levels clearly reaffirms enduring bipartisan U.S. support for the Tibetan people,” and urged Congress to sustain Tibet-related funding during the FY2027 budget process.
In addition to retaining Tibet-related aid, the FY2026 spending bill restores funding for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), enabling the resumption of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) broadcasting. Previous executive actions had led to the shutdown of VOA and RFA’s Tibetan services in Dharamshala, raising concerns about the loss of major sources of independent information for Tibetans inside occupied Tibet and the world at large.
“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,” Tencho Gyatso concluded.
