Congressman Barr Introduces Bill to Prevent International Monetary Fund Resources from Flowing to Taliban

Press Release

U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06), Republican Leader of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy, today introduced the IMF Afghan Recognition Assurance Act. This bill would instruct the United States Governor of, and the United States Executive Director at, the International Monetary Fund to use the voice and vote of the United States to advocate that the Fund not recognize the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan under Taliban control. Moreover, this legislation would ensure that IMF funds be barred from any Afghani governmental entity actively involved in or promoting acts of terror or the suppression of human rights.

"The Administration's decision to withhold $450 million in SDR's is a start, but it does not fix the underlying concern that Taliban militants may still gain access to IMF resources," said Congressman Barr, who also serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "My bill would use American muscle to cut off Afghanistan from the IMF, unless there is a national interest to reverse that decision and we can be sure that the government in Afghanistan is protecting women's rights and not supporting terrorists."

Congressman Barr's introduction of the IMF Afghan Recognition Assurance Act comes just days after his letter to New York Fed President John C. Williams calling for the safeguarding of Afghani assets held in the U.S.

"Due to fast-moving events, I encourage you to engage in frequent coordination with Executive branch agencies in order to guarantee that only authorized representatives of Afghanistan, as recognized by the Secretary of State, enjoy de facto control of account access at the Fed, and that Afghanistan's account cannot benefit the Taliban's malign activities. In addition, I urge you to scrutinize significant transactions involving Afghanistan's property at your institution, above and beyond automated procedures already in place, to detect, and potentially block, suspicious activity during this time of uncertainty," the letter read.

"I am committed to utilizing my jurisdiction on all fronts for the purpose of countering the rise of a Taliban-run government in Afghanistan. President Biden and his national security team have erred egregiously in implementing their Afghanistan exit strategy. Now is the time to look forward and begin to implement policy that can begin to clean up the mess that they created."

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