The United States House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed the No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act, a landmark bill aimed at preventing the Taliban from accessing foreign aid, including humanitarian assistance intended for the people of Afghanistan. Introduced by Congressman Tim Burchett on June 23, 2025, the legislation mandates the U.S Department of State to formulate and implement robust strategies to ensure that the Taliban regime designated for its ties to terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda cannot benefit directly or indirectly from international financial assistance. The State Department will also be required to submit a comprehensive report to Congress and work with international partners to pressure other governments into halting aid to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
“The American people deserve to know that their tax dollars are not ending up in the hands of terrorists,” said Congressman Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee, who led the legislative push. He has alleged that up to $40 million in U.S. taxpayer funds may have been delivered to the Taliban via private aircraft and accused the group of maintaining active ties with al-Qaeda.
The bill’s passage reflects growing bipartisan concern in Washington that despite stringent aid restrictions, the Taliban continues to profit from international assistance either by taxing aid convoys or interfering in distribution networks. Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously testified before Congress that the Taliban may have indirectly accessed as much as $10 million from U.S. aid programs.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, the United States has provided over $3.5 billion in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. While intended for civilians suffering from economic collapse and food insecurity, lawmakers argue that insufficient safeguards have enabled the Taliban to siphon off substantial resources.
The new legislation builds on aid restrictions first implemented during the Trump administration, which had significantly scaled back U.S assistance to Afghanistan. However, critics argue that the Taliban has adapted by exploiting humanitarian supply chains, making stronger and more targeted measures essential.
Under the bill, the U.S. State Department must now also identify and report all countries that have provided aid to the Taliban-controlled Afghan regime since 2021 a move that could increase international pressure on donor states and organizations to review their funding pipelines.
The No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act marks a critical turning point in the United States’ post-withdrawal engagement with Afghanistan, signaling a zero-tolerance approach to the financing of regimes accused of supporting terrorism and suppressing fundamental human rights.
