Ernst demands end to Afghanistan payments that wind up in Taliban’s hands

The U.S. has been out of Afghanistan for nearly three years, but taxpayers are still sending money to the country — and some of it has likely ended up with the Taliban.

Sen. Joni Ernst called that a “massive oversight” by the Biden administration, and said it’s time to shut off the spigot.

The Iowa Republican, in a letter to President Biden Friday, demanded that he “rectify” the situation, and said she’s pursuing legislation that would require more disclosure about how much U.S. money actually ends up with the regime in Afghanistan.

“American blood, weapons, and now tax dollars are in the hands of the Taliban thanks to the Biden-Harris administration,” the senator said. “The terror group’s activities should be sanctioned, not subsidized.”

The U.S. has sent at least $3.8 billion in American currency into the country since the end of 2021. The money has helped on-the-ground aid programs and propped up Afghanistan’s economy.

But the shipments also end up helping the Taliban regime, an inspector general said.

The Taliban also taxes U.S. assistance, and since August 2021 has collected nearly $11 million of American money as its cut of the development funds. The inspector general said that is a lowball estimate because the State Department doesn’t require grantees to collect and report the data.

U.S.-funded groups were also pressured to “divert” American assistance

All told, Ms. Ernst says, the U.S. has “lost track” of $239 million in Afghanistan through Biden administration bungles.

She has already proposed legislation to require the government to disclose every penny of taxpayer money that ends up in China and Russia. She said she would update her proposal to include the Taliban.

American taxpayers had largely kept Afghanistan afloat for two decades, funding most of its government budget and accounting for roughly 40% of its total gross domestic product.

In the wake of the troubled U.S. troop withdrawal and the Taliban’s takeover, the Biden administration had to decide whether — and how — to support the people without enriching an adversarial government.

With the U.N. warning of mass starvation and deteriorating human rights, the administration decided it would send money to nongovernmental organizations.

But the inspector general said the Taliban figured out ways to get at some of that money.

The watchdog surveyed groups that have gotten U.S. money and found 58% of them reported paying taxes, fees, duties and utility costs to the Taliban government. The Taliban also attempted to “infiltrate” organizations and divert some aid money, the report said.

While the size of the losses doesn’t sound large for the U.S. government, it’s significant in Afghanistan, where the government’s entire budget in 2022 was said to be $2.6 billion.

“Congress may wish to determine whether the benefits that U.S. currency shipments provided to the Taliban regime outweigh the economic and humanitarian benefits associated with providing assistance to the Afghan people,” the inspector general said. “If Congress determines the benefits to the Taliban are too great, Congress may wish to consider implementing limits to or requiring additional oversight of the purchase and transport of U.S. currency shipments to Afghanistan.”

The latest audit in late July said that since the Taliban ousted the U.S.-backed regime in 2021, Americans have sent $2.1 billion in disaster and refugee assistance. The Defense Department also paid out $100 million to settle contracts the Afghan security forces had contracted before the Taliban takeover.