House Passes Bill To Scrutinize Taliban Funding

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed legislation aimed at limiting the Taliban’s funding from international governments and NGOs. The No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act (H.R. 260) states that the United States’ foreign policy is to “oppose the provision of foreign assistance by foreign countries and nongovernmental organizations to the Taliban, particularly those countries and organizations that receive United States-provided foreign assistance.”

Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett, who proposed the legislation, stated on the House floor on Monday that Afghans opposing Taliban rule have informed him that international funding is being channeled to the government.

“According to them, nearly all of the cash aid sent to Afghanistan ends up in the hands of the Taliban,” Burchett stated. “Mr. Speaker, they will hate us for free. We do not need to give them hard-earned American tax dollars.”

The Act mandates the Secretary of State to design a strategy within 180 days to deter foreign governments and organizations from assisting the Taliban, to find methods to support Afghan women and former US military partners, and to provide a series of reports to Congress on aid to Afghanistan.

Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) acknowledged the measure’s bipartisan support, but chastised the Trump administration for its lack of clarity over its plans in Afghanistan.

“There is not a consensus about what the Trump administration is doing on Afghanistan, because they won’t tell us,” Jackson stated. “We urgently need more information and assurances from the Trump administration about their priorities in Afghanistan and now Iran.”

The measure passed the House by voice vote with no objections. It will now move to the Senate for final approval.

Earlier this month, legislation passed 226 to 188 by the House to prevent future administrations from prohibiting oil and gas drilling without the consent of Congress, giving President Donald Trump another significant win.

The “Protecting American Energy Production Act” was passed by lawmakers in a vote on Friday, which forbids the president from “declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium.”

Republican House members unanimously voted in favor of the legislation’s passage, while 118 Democrats voted against it.

Just weeks before he left office, former President Joe Biden banned future oil and gas drilling along 625 million acres of coastal and offshore waters, among other oil and gas-related regulations. The bill follows his actions.

The Republican who introduced the bill, Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, stated that the legislation was prompted by worries about possible fracking bans during the Biden administration.

“When President Biden took office, his administration took a ‘whole of government’ approach to wage war on American energy production, pandering to woke environmental extremists and crippling this thriving industry,” Pfluger said in a statement following the bill’s passage.

“My legislation that passed today is a necessary first step in reversing Biden’s war on energy by preventing the federal government from banning the use of hydraulic fracturing,” he said.

As part of his “drill, baby, drill” strategy, President Donald Trump has pledged to unleash energy produced in the United States since the campaign trail.

If the president signs the bill into law, it would stop the drilling method from being banned by subsequent administrations.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum launched internal investigations into agency actions that “burden” energy development on Monday, stripping the energy sector of “coercive” climate policies and oil lease bans implemented during the Biden administration.

This comes as a new national poll shows that most Democrats are dissatisfied with how their party’s lawmakers are performing in Congress.

According to a Quinnipiac University survey, 53% of Democratic respondents disapproved of congressional Democrats’ job performance, while only 41% expressed approval.