“We’ve been told that it is, somehow they’re getting it,” he said. “That’s on the surface that we know about.”
After the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration continued to send billions of U.S. taxpayer funds to the country, arguing that it wanted to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghans, despite the Taliban taking over the country and controlling where the money is spent.
It is not clear how much money the Biden administration has sent to Afghanistan.
The weekly inflow of $40 million weekly cash infusions to Afghanistan refers to a United Nations humanitarian aid effort that the U.S. is the largest donor to, according to a January 2024 Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report.
In April 2023, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko testified to Congress that the U.S. had made available $8 billion to Afghanistan after the August 2021 withdrawal. It is not clear whether the $40 million weekly cash infusions for humanitarian aid are being drawn from the $8 billion and over what time period the $8 billion is meant to last for.
According to a Center of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) report, SIGAR also found that the Taliban have “siphoned or benefited from a considerable amount of humanitarian aid,” by infiltrating United Nations-partnered Non-Governmental Organizations to access their aid budgets; imposing taxes and “security” fees on humanitarian workers; directing aid agencies to serve Taliban officials and family members; and taxing Afghan aid recipients at high rates, in some cases amounting to 60 to 100 percent of the aid received.
Burchett in December 2023 first introduced a bill to stop the flow of money to the Taliban, which was first brought to his attention by podcaster and former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan and an Afghan-American Army veteran whose pseudonym is “Legend.” The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously, but did not gain support in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Burchett reintroduced his bill, dubbed the No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act, on January 10 of this year.
“There’s been a lot of work done on this bill and I couldn’t have raised the issue without the help of Shawn Ryan and Legend. This legislation has been sat on long enough. I look forward to working it through both chambers and getting it to President Trump’s desk as quickly possible,” Burchett said in a statement at the time.
The bill would force the State Department to develop and implement a policy to oppose any foreign aid from going to the Taliban; require a report on any cash assistance programs in Afghanistan and how the U.S. keeps the Taliban from accessing that; and require a report on the Afghan Fund and the Afghanistan Central Bank.
Burchett said the bill has gained the support of Sens. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).
The congressman also supports ending U.S. aid to Ukraine.
“Cut it off. Cut it off. Let’s get them to the table immediately,” he said. “I’m glad that I haven’t voted for a single penny over there. The war pimps have sold this thing. I mean, that’s their business — war, and it’s good, as long as young people keep dying. … I think it’s disgusting.”
“Daddy used to have a saying, ‘Old men make decisions and young men die,’” said Burchett, whose father and uncles fought in World War II.
Burchettt, who sits on the committee overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency, praised DOGE’s efforts so far and said he hopes they look at waste and fraud in Medicaid and Medicare, education, and defense spending.
“I hope they don’t stop. I hope they just keep going,” he said.
He slammed the Pentagon for failing seven audits in a row.
“They can’t find a half a trillion dollars. That is a aircraft carrier that they’ve lost or they don’t and and how do we punish them? The last [National Defense Authorization Act], they gave them nine billion new dollars.”
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