Reps. Jason Crow, Tom Malinowski & Peter Meijer Applaud Biden Action to Release Humanitarian Aid to Afghans

Statement

Representatives Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ-07), and Peter Meijer (R-MI-03) today applauded President Biden's announcement that he will release $3.5B in humanitarian aid for the people of Afghanistan. The President's action follows the Members' urging to provide this relief for those suffering from the collapse of the Afghan economy. In a letter in December, the Members called for the release of the assets, as well as the designation of a private bank to temporarily perform central bank functions to help alleviate the country's liquidity crisis.

"Many Americans who fought in Afghanistan may not be here today if it weren't for our Afghan partners who fought with and protected us. Since the Taliban takeover in August, the Afghan economy has been in freefall. Many Afghan people are starving and in desperate need of humanitarian aid. I'm grateful to President Biden for responding to our call to release these funds as a first step in response to the humanitarian crisis," said Representative Crow.

"We have an obligation to stand by the Afghan people as they continue the fight for human rights and the future of their country," said Representative Malinowski. "I was proud to call for the release of these frozen assets to help the suffering Afghan people alongside Representatives Crow and Meijer. I applaud President Biden for heeding our call and hope help comes quickly, including additional steps to assist Afghanistan's banking system."

"After 20 years of conflict and U.S. engagement in Afghanistan, the Afghan people are on the brink of a humanitarian crisis," said Representative Meijer. "Many of us lived and served alongside our Afghan partners over the course of those two decades of war, and we cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past. While our military presence in the country is gone, we cannot forget and abandon Afghanistan. I was proud to join Representatives Crow and Malinowski in calling for these critical assets to be unfrozen and used directly to assist the Afghan people and mitigate the burgeoning societal collapse in the country. I am pleased to see that President Biden is willing to heed that call today."

The White House today announced that President Biden will ask a judge for permission to move $3.5 billion of frozen Afghan assets in New York to a trust fund to pay for immediate humanitarian relief efforts and other needs in Afghanistan.

When the Afghan government dissolved in August, it left behind slightly more than $7 billion in central bank assets on deposit at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. At that time, it was no longer clear who had legal authority to access to that account, so the Fed froze the funds.

The Afghan economy has been in collapse since the Taliban takeover in August. That has led to mass starvation and crisis across the country. By releasing the funds in this way, the US avoids legitimizing the Taliban or providing the group any direct funding.

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