A bill introduced by Rep. Tim Burchett (R) passed the House on Tuesday.
H.R. 6586 would require the secretary of state to make three reports to distribute to the necessary congressional committees.
“This bill would help prevent any more money from ending up in the hands of the Taliban,” Burchett said.
The first two reports would have to be done within 180 days after the bill was enacted. The first would list the foreign countries that gave money or material support to the Taliban since Sept. 1, 2001.
That would also include the amount of foreign aid provided by the U.S. for each of those countries, the amount the foreign country provided to the Taliban, and a description of how the Taliban used that aid. The report would also list steps the U.S. has taken to discourage other countries from providing the terrorist organization with aid.
Within that 180 days, the secretary of state would be required to develop a strategy to discourage other countries from giving aid to the Taliban and determine if the U.S. should still provide aid for the countries that do. This report would have to be given annually and be submitted unclassified, according to the language of the bill.
The second report would be compiled by the secretary of state and the U.S. Agency for International Development, listing all of the Direct Cash Assistance Programs in Afghanistan and how the department prevents the Taliban from getting anything from those programs.
Burchett said part of the reason he introduced the bill was because of fallen Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss, who died during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“He was technically the last American to lose his life in Afghanistan. The road I live on, the state highway has been named in his honor. I see it every day when I drive down and I think about that. I’ve held his parents both when they’ve cried and I’ve cried and it’s just very emotional for me. These folks they lost their lives in the Afghanistan withdraw, we need to make sure our tax dollars don’t go towards terrorists who killed Americans.”Rep. Tim Burchett
The third report would have to be given within 90 days of the bill beginning. It would detail the Afghan Fund.
The fund was created in 2022 under President Joe Biden. The goal was to support the people of Afghanistan as the country continued to be in a continuing economic and humanitarian crisis.
The $3.5 billion fund is based out of a bank in Switzerland. During the creation, safeguards were put in place to make sure the Taliban would not get any benefits from the fund, making sure only the people of Afghanistan could access the money.
“The people of Afghanistan face humanitarian and economic crises born of decades of conflict, severe drought, COVID-19, and endemic corruption,” said Wendy Sherman, the United States Deputy Secretary of State on the day the fund was created. “Today, the United States and its partners take an important, concrete step forward in ensuring that additional resources can be brought to bear to reduce suffering and improve economic stability for the people of Afghanistan while continuing to hold the Taliban accountable.”
When the Taliban took over control of Kabul, the Central Bank of Afghanistan lost access to some of its accounts, according to White House officials.
The report required by H.R. 6586, would serve as a check and balance to make sure the Taliban did not regain control and use the money in the fund.
It would contain a list of the Taliban members working at the bank, how much influence the organization has over the bank and its trustees and what measures are in place to make sure the money only goes to citizens.
Story courtesy of our news partner WVLT
