The Fulbright program is the largest US international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake advanced research and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide. Sponsered by the US Department of State, the Fulbright was established by the US Congress to "enable the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries." In 2007, approximately six thousand grants were awarded, at a cost of more than $262 million, to U.S. students, teachers, professionals, and scholars to study, teach, lecture, and conduct research in more than 155 countries, and to their foreign counterparts to engage in similar activities in the United States.