House panel to consider legislation that would halt taxpayer money flowing to the Taliban

The House Foreign Affairs Committee is set to consider legislation that would halt millions in U.S. tax dollars from flowing to the Taliban.

The Republican-led panel is slated to hold a markup hearing Wednesday on the No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act, which seeks to stop foreign aid from ending up in the hands of the terrorist organization following its takeover of the Afghan government in 2021 in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal.

The bill comes after lawmakers were recently made aware of weekly $40 million “cash shipments” being made to the Afghanistan Central Bank, and follows a December hearing during which former Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that at least $10 million had been paid to the Taliban in the form of taxes.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast, Florida Republican, pinned the blame on the Biden administration for allowing the money to flow to the Taliban, and framed the bill as another avenue where “Republicans are cleaning up Biden’s mess.”

“Not only did Joe Biden commit the worst foreign policy blunder in modern history by allowing Afghanistan to fall in the hands of the Taliban, he allowed U.S. taxpayer dollars to prop up a terrorist regime that tortures its own citizens,” Mr. Mast said in a statement to The Washington Times.

“As a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, I have seen their devastation first-hand. But you don’t have to be a veteran to understand that it is just plain stupid to send millions of dollars to our enemies,” he added.

Republicans have sought to stymie the flow of aid to Afghanistan following a report last year from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction that found that at least $10.9 million in U.S. taxpayer money was paid to the Taliban-controlled government by “implementing partners” such as non-governmental organizations in the form of duties and taxes.

The report said that the $10.9 million, which was paid by dozens of implementing partners with the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, and U.S. Agency for Global Media, was “likely only a fraction of the total amount of U.S. assistance funds” provided to the Taliban because United Nations agencies receiving U.S. funds did not collect data or provide “relevant information about their subawardees’ payments.”

“The direct collection of taxes, fees, duties, and utilities from U.S. government-funded activities risks contributing to the legitimization of the Taliban-controlled government in the eyes of the Afghan people,” the report read. “For example, implementing partners reported the Taliban uses aid delivery as propaganda by taking credit for the aid provided to the Afghan people.”

Wednesday’s hearing will not be the first time that the bill, sponsored by Rep. Tim Burchett, will make its way through the committee.

The Tennessee Republican’s measure passed both passed through the House last year before ultimately being cast aside by the Senate, which at the time was controlled by Democrats.

His second attempt at moving the measure would require that the U.S. make a statement of policy opposing financial or material support to the Taliban by foreign countries and NGOs, and require that the State Department provide a report on cash assistance programs in Afghanistan.

It would also require a report to Congress on that includes a list of Taliban members working at Afghanistan’s Central Bank, a description of the Taliban’s influence over the Bank, details regarding the Afghan Fund’s board of trustees and a description of what controls are in place to prevent the Taliban from accessing those funds.

The bill has 23 co-sponsors in the House, and a Senate version was introduced by Republican Sens. Tim Sheehy of Montana, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee.