Tom Malinowsky (D-NJ), Jason Crow (D-CO) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) lead a call upon Secretaries Blinken and Yellen, issued as a Dec. 15 open letter signed by 39 members of Congress and Senators, to unfreeze Afghanistan funds, and release humanitarian aid directly to the Afghan people. The statement is replete with warnings that nothing must be allowed to go through the Taliban government, and that UN-associated agencies will function as a workaround. (https://malinowski.house.gov/media/press-releases/representatives-malinowski-crow-and-meijer-call-release-humanitarian-aid)
The letter said the U.S. must rally donors for the upcoming UN appeal for Afghanistan. They request a report back from the Treasury and State Departments no later than Jan. 14, 2022.
Arguing that “No one benefits from a failed state in Afghanistan,” the letter states that it is the U.S.’s “responsibility to help the many millions … to survive the winter, to feed their children, and to preserve what can be salvaged of the progress made during the last 20 years.” Afghanistan is “on the verge of famine and economic collapse,” so “decisive action is needed to prevent a humanitarian disaster.… [T]here is an approach that the U.S. can take to help prevent a catastrophic collapse of Afghanistan’s aid-dependent economy while not providing legitimacy to the Taliban.”
