The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted in favor of a bill sponsored by Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) aimed at preventing U.S. taxpayer dollars from reaching the Taliban, following reports of millions of dollars flowing into the hands of the terrorist regime after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Rep. Burchett’s bill, the No Tax Dollars for Terrorist Act, seeks to halt financial and material support from U.S. funds being channeled to the Taliban, which took control of Afghanistan in August 2021. The legislation builds upon a similar measure introduced last Congress, H.R. 6586, which garnered unanimous support in the House but was blocked by Senate Democrats from reaching a final vote.
The issue became a central concern for House Republicans after reports surfaced that the Biden administration had paid millions of dollars to the Taliban, including weekly cash shipments of nearly $40mn to Afghanistan’s Central Bank. In May 2024, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction confirmed that over $10mn in taxes had been paid to the Taliban since they seized control of the country.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed the payments during his testimony before the committee in December 2024, acknowledging that U.S. taxpayer money had inadvertently ended up in Taliban hands in the form of taxes.
Rep. Burchett emphasized the urgency of stopping these financial transfers.
“The United States has sent over $5bn in cash to Kabul,” Burchett said. “This money has been taxed and stolen by the Taliban, yet we continue to send it oddly enough. That definitely needs to end. The State Department needs to ensure that any aid, whether financial or material, does not go to terrorists in Afghanistan. We need to have a clear understanding of the influence the Taliban has on, not just international aid, but the Afghan banking system as well.”
The bill mandates that the Department of State develop and implement a strategy to discourage foreign governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from providing financial or material support to the Taliban. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) underscored the bill’s significance, particularly in light of the U.S. lacking diplomatic relations with the Taliban.
“We don’t have an embassy there. We don’t have diplomatic relations with the Taliban – they are a terrorist organization,” Chairman Mast stated. “This bill will ensure that U.S. foreign assistance is not used to encourage countries or organizations to provide support to the Taliban.”
The bill passed out of committee with 23 co-sponsors and is set to advance to the House floor for a vote. The legislation is part of the first full committee markup of the 119th Congress and represents a continued effort by Republicans to curb any financial support for the Taliban from U.S. resources.
Recently, the United States has reiterated its position on Afghanistan, stating that there are no plans to reopen its embassy in Kabul at this time.
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