Tennessee U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) introduced a bill on Thursday that would require the U.S. Department of State to develop and implement a policy that “ensures” U.S. tax money does not end up in the hands of the Taliban.
Burchett’s bill, the No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act, would require the State Department to “develop and implement a policy to oppose any foreign aid from going to the Taliban.”
Today, I introduced the ‘No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act’ to ensure US tax dollars are not funding the TALIBAN.
Here’s what the bill does:
1) Forces the State Dept to develop and implement a policy to oppose any foreign aid from going to the Taliban.
2) Requires a report…
— Rep. Tim Burchett (@RepTimBurchett) January 9, 2025
In addition, the bill would require two reports to be compiled and submitted to the appropriate congressional committees in relation to the Taliban – one on “any cash assistance programs in Afghanistan and how the US keeps the Taliban from gaining access” and the other on the “Afghan Fund and the Afghanistan central bank.”
In a post published to X, Burchett said, “It is crazy that legislation like this needs to be introduced in the first place.”
Burchett’s filing of the No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act comes one week after the Tennessee congressman sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump highlighting his concerns surrounding U.S. tax dollars indirectly being funneled to the Taliban.
In his letter to Trump, Burchett detailed how cash shipments of U.S. money to Afghanistan’s central bank are “nearly impossible to track” after they are “auctioned off” to the Taliban, which then uses the money to “fund terrorism around the world.”
We have got to quit funding the Taliban under @realDonaldTrump. $40 million a week to our enemies is a slap in the face to those who served. pic.twitter.com/MVgMnSo1Gn
— Rep. Tim Burchett (@RepTimBurchett) January 6, 2025
“The United States of America should not fund its enemies abroad. I implore you to take action to put an end to wasteful foreign aid spending and to support efforts in Congress to put Americans first. I look forward to working with you during your second term as President,” Burchett wrote to Trump.
During the 118th Congress, the U.S. House passed a similar bill Burchett introduced to discourage countries that receive U.S. foreign aid from sending money to the Taliban; however, the U.S. Senate, controlled by a Democratic majority at the time, refused to take up the bill.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
