WASHINGTON — Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Republican of West Virginia, has introduced legislation aimed at preventing U.S. taxpayer funds from reaching the Taliban or “other terrorist organizations” through United Nations assistance to Afghanistan.
The bill, known as the Stop Funding Global Terrorists Act, would prohibit U.S. contributions to the U.N. for aid to Afghanistan until the State Department certifies to Congress that no American funds are included in U.N. cash shipments into the country and that no designated terrorist organizations receive money from such contributions.
“The American people do not support their taxpayer dollars funding terrorism,” Senator Capito said in a statement. “This bill will ensure that U.S. funds are not included in U.N. cash shipments to Afghanistan or diverted to benefit the Taliban—a repressive regime that has stripped virtually every right from women and girls in Afghanistan. If the U.N. cannot properly account for U.S. funding, it should not be trusted with it.”
The introduction of the bill follows a May 2024 report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which found that at least $10.9 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars had been diverted to the Taliban. The report noted that this sum was “likely only a fraction” of the total amount of American assistance reaching the group through taxes, fees, and other levies imposed on U.N. agencies operating in Afghanistan.
According to SIGAR, between October 2021 and September 2023, the U.N. received $1.6 billion in U.S. funding for Afghanistan programs, accounting for approximately 63 percent of all American aid to the country during that period. In testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in March 2024, SIGAR officials detailed the ways in which the Taliban have allegedly diverted aid for their own benefit.
The bill has garnered support from several Republican senators, including Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Katie Britt of Alabama, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Rick Scott of Florida, Ted Cruz of Texas, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Tim Scott of South Carolina.
The legislation comes amid growing Republican criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021. In November 2024, Senator Capito criticized a U.N. proposal to unlock climate funding for Afghanistan despite ongoing Taliban repression. She also condemned the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls during a Senate Republican leadership press conference in September 2024.
Separately, Representative Tim Burchett, Republican of Tennessee, has introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives aimed at blocking U.S. taxpayer money from reaching terrorist organizations.
