A gaggle of 51 bipartisan lawmakers is urging Home negotiators to maintain up the stream of {dollars} to a visa program for Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover of their nation.
Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, wrote to the Home of Representatives’ prime appropriators as they proceed to barter federal funding for the rest of fiscal yr (FY) 2025.
“We write to urge you to maintain critical provisions for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program1 in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations package. Authorizing new Afghan SIVs is critical to vetting and relocating qualified Afghan principal applicants currently in the processing pipeline,” they wrote to Home Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., and others.
It comes as President-elect Trump promised to work towards steep spending cuts within the coming federal funding fights. He wrote on Fact Social final week, “The United States will cut Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in spending next year through Reconciliation!”
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Lawmakers are calling for the preservation of an Afghan visa program as President-elect Trump vows steep spending cuts. (Getty Photographs)
Individuals in Trump’s orbit, together with some Home Republicans, are pushing for him to have better management over how congressionally appropriated funds are spent.
In the meantime, Trump tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy final month to guide an advisory panel on cost-cutting dubbed the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE).
The duo have already positioned themselves as influential gamers in Congress’ spending discussions as nicely, having led the revolt in opposition to a 1,547-page authorities funding invoice that was a product of bipartisan negotiations. They haven’t, nonetheless, mentioned the place they wish to see Congress pull again on spending.
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Reps. Jason Crow and Zach Nunn, each navy veterans, led the bipartisan letter. (Getty Photographs)
The 51 lawmakers pushing for the Afghan SIV program to be preserved argue it’s “a life-saving path to safety for Afghan nationals who face serious danger as a result of their work alongside U.S. troops, diplomats, and contractors.”
“Congress must continue this work so that the State Department is able to issue visas to eligible Afghans who face imminent threats from the Taliban, Islamic State, and other hostile groups because of their service to the U.S. and our allies,” they wrote.
The Afghan SIV program was first enacted in 2009, however noticed new significance after the Taliban’s lightening-fast takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 – which precipitated the U.S.’s withdrawal after many years within the Center Jap nation.
Congress licensed extra visas underneath this system yearly since FY 2019, based on the letter.
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Congressional negotiators have thus far failed to return to an settlement on FY 2025 spending, forcing lawmakers to move two extensions of final yr’s funding ranges to forestall a partial authorities shutdown.
The latest extension, known as a unbroken decision (CR), provides lawmakers till March 14 to make a deal.
