U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) on Jan. 29 led eight of her Republican colleagues in introducing legislation that would restrict United States voluntary and assessed contributions to the United Nations (UN) if those funds are supporting terrorist groups in Afghanistan.
“The American people do not support their taxpayer dollars funding terrorism,” Sen. Capito said. “If the UN can’t properly account for U.S. funding provided to Afghanistan, they should not be trusted with it.”
The Stop Funding Global Terrorists Act, S. 313, specifically would prohibit U.S. contributions to the UN for assistance to Afghanistan until the U.S. State Department provided certification to Congress that no U.S. funds would be included in UN cash shipments into Afghanistan; and no Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization or Foreign Terrorist Organization would receive any funds via such contributions.
Sen. Capito pointed to a May 2024 report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) that revealed at least $10.9 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars was diverted to the Taliban, an amount that SIGAR said is “likely only a fraction of the total amount of U.S. assistance funds provided to the Taliban in taxes, fees, duties, and utilities because UN agencies receiving U.S. funds did not collect data or provide relevant information about their sub-awardees’ payments.”
Sen. Capito sponsored S. 313 alongside original cosponsors including U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Tim Scott (R-SC).
“I’m proud to lead my colleagues in introducing the Stop Funding Global Terrorists Act, which will ensure that U.S. funds are not included in UN cash shipments to Afghanistan or being diverted to benefit the Taliban — a repressive regime that has stripped virtually every right from women and girls in Afghanistan,” said Sen. Capito.