US Senate Committee Approves Bill to Block Access to American Aid in Afghanistan

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved a bill aimed at cutting off Taliban access to US financial assistance to Afghanistan, according to a committee statement.

Committee Chairman Jim Risch said the legislation was passed on Thursday and is designed to ensure that not a single dollar of US taxpayer money reaches terrorist organizations operating in Afghanistan.

Risch said US forces fought the Taliban for years, noting that more than 2,000 Americans were killed and over 20,000 wounded during the war. He added that any US funds reaching the Taliban would insult veterans and their families.

The bill, titled “No Tax Dollars for Terrorists,” was previously approved by the US House of Representatives and now moves one step closer to becoming law.

Risch said the measure must still pass a full Senate vote before being sent to President Donald Trump for signature. The legislation was introduced last year by Republican Congressman Tim Burchett, who has argued that US aid mechanisms lack sufficient safeguards against Taliban misuse.

Under the bill, the US State Department would be required to develop and enforce strict policies governing any foreign assistance that could benefit the Taliban, including oversight of trust funds and Afghanistan’s central bank.

The move follows earlier reports by the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which found that the Taliban had benefited from US-funded assistance. Since the Taliban returned to power, the United States has provided about $3.8 billion in aid to Afghanistan, much of it intended for humanitarian purposes.

The post US Senate Committee Approves Bill to Block Access to American Aid in Afghanistan appeared first on Khaama Press.