No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 260, and I thank my dear friend and honorable colleague, the Honorable Tim Burchett from the great State of Tennessee, for his remarks.

Mr. Speaker, oversight of U.S. policy toward Afghanistan does not have to be a partisan issue. We can all agree that we do not want American dollars sent to Afghanistan to be diverted to the Taliban. However, we must do so in a way that does not further alienate those partners already reeling from the Trump administration's foreign assistance freeze, which terminated nearly all humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, despite its compliance with U.S. law and policy.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad that Mr. Burchett was willing to work with Democrats to address many of our concerns about this legislation. I am also glad that this legislation contains important amendments offered by the Honorable Representative Kamlager-Dove to require additional reporting on the Haqqani Network, and Representative Keating to ensure that the strategy required by this bill prioritizes Afghan women and girls, as well as our Afghan allies. These amendments, adopted with bipartisan support during the markup, underscore that there remains considerable areas of bipartisan consensus in the House about our Afghanistan policy.

Unfortunately, there is not a consensus about what the Trump administration is doing on Afghanistan because they won't tell us. The State Department has ignored multiple bipartisan requests from this committee, dating back to February, for more information about the deals it is making with the Taliban and the Haqqani Network. Despite the fact that the Republican-led Congress enacted a law codifying the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, Secretary Rubio is disabling the infrastructure supporting our Afghan allies and leaving Congress in the dark.

Likewise, Secretary Rubio has abolished the Special Envoy for Afghan Women and Girls, even as this administration lifted the Rewards for Justice bounties on the leaders of the Haqqani Network, a group with the blood of U.S. troops on their hands.

Mr. Speaker, we urgently need more information and assurances from the Trump administration about their priorities in Afghanistan and now Iran. I hope my colleagues on the other side will stand up for our committee's oversight responsibility. For now, we are glad to have the opportunity to work together on this legislation.

I thank, again, the Honorable Congressman Tim Burchett and all his great bipartisan advocates. I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting

this measure. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, our Afghan allies risked their lives for America. The United States must continue to do everything it can to support our partners on the ground providing assistance to Afghan civilians, including women and children, while also ensuring U.S. foreign assistance isn't being diverted into the hands of the Taliban.

There remain considerable areas of bipartisan consensus in Congress when it comes to our Afghanistan policy. This legislation will lean on that consensus to help bolster our committee's oversight power and take a step toward delivering to our Afghan allies the support that they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me and support this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, today, myself and my distinguished colleague from Montana, Senator Sheehy, rise in support of what is perhaps the most commonsense national security legislation that has come across the Senate floor this year.

The No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act will help to prevent even one American dollar from going to terrorist organizations like the Taliban.

American military personnel spent years fighting the Taliban. Over 2,000 Americans were killed in Afghanistan, and more than 20,000 were wounded. It is a slap on the face of these veterans and their families if even one taxpayer dollar would flow to this organization.

We need to know that the NGOs and the foreign nations that aid is provided to do not pass those dollars to the very organizations that look to harm us.

The Taliban and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan try to erase women and girls from society. Christians and other minority groups face constant threats, including torture, kidnapping, and murder.

Idahoans and all Americans deserve to know that not one of their hard-earned tax dollars is going to fund these heinous organizations.

I am thankful that President Trump has cut off aid to Afghanistan in an attempt to stop money from flowing to the Taliban.

This bill that is before us right now will ensure that Congress is made aware of any exploitation of our tax dollars by the Taliban or to the Taliban, and that the U.S. Government has a plan to address that.

This vote is an easy, resounding yes. It is beyond understanding why anyone would be against this legislation, where we are trying to keep money out of the hands of terrorists--our money.

If Democrats continue to block this bill, as they have done for months, I am committed--and I recommit--to moving it as quickly as I can through regular process in my Foreign Relations Committee. This bill should become law.

I urge my Democrat colleagues to join us to ensure that no American tax dollars go to the Taliban.

I yield to my distinguished colleague from Montana.

Mr. President, I thank Senator Sheehy for those remarks. I think you are absolutely correct that Americans have no idea that some of their taxpayer dollars are actually winding up in the hands of terrorists.

I know there will be people who say: Oh, we can't do this because some money needs to go in there to help women, children, babies--that sort of thing.

What we have learned, if we have learned anything from what has happened in Gaza, is that when you have a terrorist organization that is in charge of a country, it is impossible to keep the money, food, or anything else that is sent in there out of the hands of terrorists.

If you see the terrorists on TV, they always look well fed. They are well armed. They are doing well. And, at the same time, the babies in the country are starving to death, and the same thing with the women and young children.

So with that, this legislation is designed exactly to do that, and that is, to keep every dollar out of the hands of these terrorists.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that, as if in legislation session and notwithstanding rule XXII, the Committee on Foreign Relations be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 260 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 260) to require a strategy to oppose financial or material support by foreign countries and nongovernmental organizations to the Taliban, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, my bill, H.R. 260, focuses on three main issues: one, keeping financial and material support out of the hands of the Taliban; two, reporting on cash assistance programs; and three, reporting on the Afghan Fund and the Afghan central bank.

Since December 2021, the United States has sent over $5 billion in cash to Kabul. This money has been taxed and stolen by the Taliban, yet we continue to send it.

Mr. Speaker, that needs to end.

The State Department needs to ensure that any aid does not go to terrorists in Afghanistan. We need to have a clearer understanding of the influence the Taliban has on not just international aid but the Afghan banking system, as well.

When this bill was originally introduced at the end of 2023, it did not mention nongovernmental organizations in Afghanistan. However, our understanding of the reality on the ground has changed.

During a hearing last year, former Secretary of State Blinken admitted that over $10 million had been paid to the Taliban. Contacts within Taliban resistance forces have provided me with a different narrative. According to them, nearly all of the cash aid sent to Afghanistan ends up in the hands of the Taliban.

Mr. Speaker, they will hate us for free. We do not need to give them hard-earned American tax dollars. It is time we know what is going on and implement a strategy to make sure this aid goes to those who need it.

I also thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for working with us closely on this important piece of legislation and coming up with a bill that works for both parties. My Democratic friends agree that it is time to stop funding terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and across the Middle East.

I thank my dear friend Shawn Ryan from middle Tennessee, former Navy SEAL, who brought this to my attention.

I also thank my good friend ``Legend.'' He goes by that name because he has a hit out on his life because he has taken a tough stand. He is an Afghan that fought for America, and he is my friend.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the kind words that Representative Jackson said about me. He is probably one of my closest friends across the aisle. I don't agree with him on anything, but he is my friend and I dig that.

Mr. Speaker, we must send a very strong message that the United States will no longer tolerate sending U.S. tax dollars to terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and across the Middle East.

I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, first of all, what is important for me to acknowledge is that Senator Risch on the Foreign Relations Committee has done excellent work on making certain we don't get taxpayer dollars to the Taliban.

I also want to acknowledge my appreciation for the service of the Senator from Montana and his wife in protecting us against terrorist activity.

Let me explain why I object, because my objection is not for the purpose of keeping money out of the Taliban. That objective I support.

What I don't support is a bill that is written in a way where aid and humanitarian organizations that are spending money they raise to do work we support--and that is to protect women and children who are subject to the vicious conduct of the Taliban--that they will be cut off from being able to do their work.

The reality is, for some of these NGOs, if they have to pay an electric bill, then the bill, as drafted, would mean they are not able to do their work.

So when you have an aid organization that is dedicated to trying to help girls and women from the oppression, who are from the Afghan people, who are the victims of the Taliban authoritarianism, and even paying an electric utility bill, even paying a water bill would mean that organization is shut down and can't do the good work that I believe the majority of us, if not all of us, in the Senate would support--because our concern is the well-being of the people of Afghanistan, and our objection is to the authoritarian and violent rule of the Taliban.

So this bill, as drafted, would interfere with legitimate work that would do good for the people in Afghanistan, especially women and girls, who are the victims of the Taliban. Our government is not sending money to the Taliban. That was discontinued under President Trump.

Our government is not sending money to American NGOs or NGOs in governments that are our allies. So what this bill is doing is trying to ensure that money that is sent to help Afghan women and children and other vulnerable people is not siphoned off to indirectly support the Taliban. That is a worthy objective, but it is overly broad in how it is written.

So it would literally mean that NGOs that are doing work that we support can't be done. And for that reason, I do object.

You know, we have got to keep in mind that the Taliban is our adversary, but there are over 3 million Afghans who have lost access to health services.

There are many Afghans who served with our military and to whom we owe a debt of gratitude. They saved, in many cases, the lives of men and women who served in the military. And among the people who have been the biggest advocates for the Afghan people, as opposed to the Taliban, are many of our brave soldiers who have served in Afghanistan.

So the objection here is based on how the bill is written, how it is overly broad and will have the effect of stopping good work that does good things for oppressed people. That is the reason that I want to assert my objection to this legislation.

I want to thank Senator Risch for helping to lead this legislation in the Senate.

Most Americans probably find it somewhat surprising, as they struggle with affordability, as they are struggling to fill their gas tank or pay their rent or afford their mortgage, that many of their tax dollars--in fact, upward of $10 billion of their tax dollars--are sent directly into the pockets of foreign terrorist organizations--terrorist organizations that we spent thousands of lives and decades fighting, to protect our shores, to include the lives of some of my friends.

I spent years of my life, as did my wife spend years of her life, fighting these terrorist organizations, trying to keep this country safe, and now we are told that our tax dollars have an obligation to go into the pocket of those organizations to buy bullets, to build bombs, to coordinate attacks that don't just kill Americans. They kill those who share our values worldwide.

It is not just westerners and Americans who are killed by this. The Taliban systemically hunts down those in Afghanistan with whom they disagree, those who want to be free, those women and girls who saw a brief period of freedom under our occupation there, and now they are once again placed in the yolk of terrible sexism, of not even fascism but outright terror.

It isn't just Afghanistan. This extends across the globe. This terrorist financing network is not just guys in mountain caves collecting dollar bills. This is a sophisticated global finance network that spans the entire world.

The Iranian regime, although not directly connected in many ways to this, is absolutely directly connected to the international flow of terrorist funds through sophisticated real estate transactions, cryptocurrency, oil smuggling, piracy, kidnapping, and terrorism.

It is unthinkable that we would intentionally and knowingly hand our taxpayer dollars to organizations that actively kill Americans and attempt to destroy our values every single day.

I think it should be a bipartisan American issue for us to finally put an end to this ridiculous practice that is actively costing us lives and precious freedom capital around the world.

I hope we pass this act. I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I urge it quickly.