118 HR 9503 IH: Protecting Taxpayer Dollars from Taliban Theft Act U.S. House of Representatives 2024-09-09 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I118th CONGRESS2d SessionH. R. 9503IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESSeptember 9, 2024Mr. Huizenga (for himself, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Lawler, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Self, Mr. Baird, Mr. Davidson, Mr. Guest, Mr. Cline, Mr. Norman, and Mr. Weber of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign AffairsA BILLTo direct the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to promulgate regulations to require all implementing partners receiving foreign assistance funds with activities in Afghanistan to submit a report on any payments or withholdings, including for taxes, fees, duties, and utilities, made to the Taliban, state-owned enterprises, or governing institutions in Afghanistan, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Protecting Taxpayer Dollars from Taliban Theft Act.

2.

Findings

Congress makes the following findings:(1)A May 2024 report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found that the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) do not know the full scope of the taxes, fees, duties, and utilities paid to the Taliban using United States-funded assistance in Afghanistan.(2)Despite requirements in the Department of State’s Foreign Assistance Directive and USAID’s Acquisitions Regulations and Automatic Directives System, the Department of State and USAID do not include tax reporting clauses in all eligible awards globally, and even then, only require reporting on certain value-added tax and customs duties, rather than all forms of taxation.

3.

Statement of policy

It is the policy of the United States that United States taxpayer dollars should not be paid to the Taliban, nor should United States funding directly benefit the Taliban.

4.

Regulations to require certain reports from implementing partners

(a)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act—(1)the Secretary of State shall promulgate regulations to require all implementing partners receiving foreign assistance funds from the Department of State with activities in Afghanistan to submit to the Department a report on any payments or withholdings, including for taxes, fees, duties, and utilities, made to the Taliban, state-owned enterprises, or governing institutions in Afghanistan; and(2)the Administrator of USAID shall promulgate regulations to require all implementing partners receiving foreign assistance funds from USAID with activities in Afghanistan to submit to USAID a report on any payments or withholdings, including for taxes, fees, duties, and utilities, made to the Taliban, state-owned enterprises, or governing institutions in Afghanistan.(b)

Existing contracts, grants, and other funding awards

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Administrator of USAID shall amend existing contracts, grants, and other funding awards relating to Afghanistan to include provisions to prohibit implementing partners from making any payments or withholdings, including for taxes, fees, duties, and utilities, to the Taliban, state-owned enterprises, or governing institutions in Afghanistan.

5.

Report

(a)

In general

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of State and the Administrator of USAID shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes a description of any payments or withholdings, including for taxes, fees, duties, and utilities, made by implementing partners to the Taliban, state-owned enterprises, or governing institutions in Afghanistan, including—(1)an identification of—(A)the implementing partner making the payment;(B)the state-owned enterprise or governing institution to which the payment was made;(2)the type of payment made; and(3)the amount of the payment.(b)

Appropriate congressional committees defined

In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means—(1)the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and(2)the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.