Are U.S. tax dollars funding Taliban? Lawmakers say Biden admin is skirting Afghanistan oversight

 U.S. House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., called out the Biden administration Tuesday, accusing it of skirting Congressional oversight in the aftermath of the deadly and chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021.

The claim comes after the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko testified before Congress last month that American taxpayer dollars may be funding the Taliban.

The U.S. has appropriated about $2 billion for Afghanistan since the withdrawal.

"SIGAR has notified the Committee on multiple occasions of the Department of State's, the U.S. Agency for International Development's, the Department of Defense's, and the U.S. Department of Treasury's refusals to cooperate with SIGAR's ongoing evaluations," the letter said.

Large-scale federal funding programs normally see some fraud and abuse, but recently the levels of those unaccounted for funds going into the hands of wrongdoers has soared.

"As U.S. taxpayer dollars continue to assist the people of Afghanistan, it is imperative SIGAR's mission remain unobstructed," Comer's letter said.

"Congress has granted SIGAR authority to carry out this mission of providing whole-of-government oversight, and it is Congress's authority alone to determine SIGAR's jurisdiction and scope of mission."

https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_adb895a2-f9a0-11ed-81c4-17d21faaa335.html