Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Senator Chuck Hagel (both currently professors at Georgetown University) speak out on recent fundings cuts for international studies and foreign language study in the following USA Today/Forum article

Albright, Hagel: Language cuts endanger U.S. by Madeleine Albright and Chuck Hagel

...We believe that a grievous last-minute mistake was made when funding for International Education and Foreign Language Studies was cut for this fiscal year. In the context of billions and even trillions of cuts being discussed, a $50 million reduction sounds insignificant. But this particular $50 million cut from the Department of Education's budget amounted to a 40% reduction in the relatively small account that supports these programs at higher education institutions across the U.S. This is a dramatic cut that will have long-lasting and serious consequences — it not only threatens the nation's diplomatic, intelligence, and national security capacities, but also our ability to maximize our competitiveness in global markets....

For the complete article see: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2011-07-15-albright-hagel-foreign-languages-budget-cuts_n.htm#.TiOcNcUy1Tw.facebook