Quote:Millions in US taxpayer dollars have been going to the Taliban, according to US House Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) as well a recent report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released in December. Burchett has proposed a bill to stop funding from being taken by the Taliban in Afghanistan but said it was blocked by the Senate Democrats last week.

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan during former President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal in 2021, the United Nations began facilitating the transportation of cash to purported humanitarian aid in Afghanistan through NGOs. However, much of that funding has ended up in the hands of the Taliban.


A December 2025 SIGAR report found, “Despite Afghanistan falling to the Taliban in 2021, the United States continued to be the nation’s largest donor, having disbursed more than $3.83 billion in humanitarian and development assistance there since."

“Although UN shipments of U.S. currency to Afghanistan had stabilized the Afghan economy, SIGAR found that they also benefited the Taliban,” the report added. There was $120 million in March of 2025 alone that went to Afghanistan through the UN.

Burchett, who has said that $45 million is going to the Taliban every week from the coffers of US taxpayers, sponsored a bill which passed the House earlier this year called the “No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act.” The bill has stalled out in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

“We are sending, currently, $40 million a week to the Taliban in Afghanistan,” Burchett said, then commented on X, "The Senate Democrats blocked our bill to stop funding the Taliban with your money." He added that many NGOs that have been receiving taxpayer dollars through US taxpayers have just been giving that money to the Taliban.


The SIGAR report from December 2025 notes that its has found that since 2021, "at least $10.9 million in U.S. funds were used to pay taxes to the Taliban-controlled government on the $2.8 billion in humanitarian and development assistance delivered to help the people of Afghanistan."

Additionally, in a July 2024 SIGAR report, it was found that "under the guise of income taxation, the Taliban have targeted and extorted money from some recipients of direct cash assistance as a way of accessing international assistance."


Similar issues were found in the 2023 SIGAR report, which found that the Taliban frequently runs "interference with NGO work" which has led to "a steady decline in humanitarian access in 2023" funding that went to Afghanistan.

John Sopko, who authored the 2023 report, said that he "cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban."


Burchett's bill, which has yet to go up for a general vote in the Senate, in summary, "requires the Department of State to develop and implement a strategy to discourage foreign countries and nongovernmental organizations from providing financial or material support to the Taliban, including by using U.S.-provided foreign assistance to discourage countries and organizations from providing such support to the Taliban."

Burchett has previously said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be working with him on ensuring that the NGOs getting the funding will not be going to the Taliban. Previous reports from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) have also found that taxpayer funds have been going to the Taliban.