New Bill Demands Reports on Aid to Taliban and Status of Afghan Fund

The "No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act" is a national security bill that aims to block foreign countries and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from funneling aid to the Taliban, especially if those foreign groups are also receiving U.S. foreign aid. Essentially, this bill formalizes a U.S. policy push to oppose any financial or material support going to the Taliban and mandates a massive, ongoing oversight effort by the State Department.

The Foreign Aid Double-Dip Crackdown

Section 2 of the bill lays out a clear policy: if you’re getting U.S. money, you can’t be giving money or supplies to the Taliban. The Secretary of State is required to create a report within 180 days detailing exactly which foreign countries and NGOs have given aid to the Taliban, how much U.S. aid they currently receive, and how the Taliban used the assistance. This is an attempt to force accountability on U.S. aid recipients. For the average American taxpayer, this is designed to ensure their dollars aren't indirectly supporting a hostile regime. For international NGOs, however, this could create a difficult situation where they face pressure to withdraw from Afghanistan entirely, potentially cutting off humanitarian lifelines if their operations are deemed too close to the Taliban’s reach.

Strategy for Support, Strategy for Scrutiny

Beyond just tracking money, the bill requires the State Department to develop a strategy—also within 180 days—to actively discourage Taliban support. This strategy has a crucial dual mandate: it must include ways to support Afghan women and girls suffering under the Taliban’s rules, while simultaneously ensuring that none of that support helps the Taliban itself. This is a very high bar to clear. Imagine trying to deliver critical supplies to a community without the local government—which is the Taliban—finding a way to extract a tax or fee. The bill recognizes the need to help vulnerable people, like women or at-risk allies seeking relocation, but the aggressive stance against aid leakage could make delivering help incredibly difficult for aid workers on the ground.

Tracking the Cash and the Hawalas

Sections 3 and 4 deal with U.S. government transparency regarding money already in play. Section 3 requires a report within 90 days on all U.S.-funded direct cash assistance programs in Afghanistan since August 2021. This report must detail how payments were made, where currency was exchanged, and specifically address the use of hawalas. For those unfamiliar, a hawala is an informal, trust-based system for transferring money without physical movement—think of it as a traditional, unregulated Western Union. The bill demands to know what checks and balances the U.S. government has in place to monitor these transfers and prevent the Taliban from skimming off the top.

Section 4 mandates regular, semi-annual reports for the next five years on the status of the Afghan Fund, which holds billions in frozen Afghan assets. These reports must detail the Taliban’s level of control or influence over Da Afghanistan Bank (the central bank) and explain the safeguards in place to prevent the Taliban from misusing the funds if they are ever released. This is about ensuring that if those assets are ever deployed for the Afghan people, they don’t just become a massive slush fund for the regime.

The Haqqani Network Question

Finally, the bill demands a quick turnaround—just 30 days—for a report on the decision to end the bounty program rewards for key leaders of the Haqqani Network, a powerful and often violent faction of the Taliban. This report must explain why any changes were made to the bounties since September 2021 and detail any contact the U.S. government has had with these leaders. This provision suggests a focus on ensuring that the U.S. government is not unintentionally easing pressure on known terrorists while dealing with the Taliban.