House Passes Bill To Scrutinize Taliban Funding

WASHINGTON — APRIL 15, 2026 — The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed two major pieces of legislation this week, moving to tighten oversight on international aid to Afghanistan and launching a bipartisan effort to address the national shortage of affordable housing. Both measures reflect the broader legislative priorities of the 2026 Restoration, balancing aggressive foreign policy oversight with domestic regulatory reform.

The House approved the “No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act” (H.R. 260) by a voice vote with no objections. The legislation, introduced by Representative Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), establishes a formal U.S. policy to oppose any foreign assistance provided to the Taliban by international governments or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), particularly those that receive U.S. funding.

Representative Burchett argued on the House floor that current international aid flows are being systematically diverted. “According to [opponents of the regime], nearly all of the cash aid sent to Afghanistan ends up in the hands of the Taliban,” Burchett stated. “Mr. Speaker, they will hate us for free. We do not need to give them hard-earned American tax dollars.”

The Act mandates that the Secretary of State develop a comprehensive strategy within 180 days to deter foreign entities from assisting the Taliban. It also requires detailed reports to Congress on aid transparency and outlines methods to support Afghan women and former U.S. military partners. Representative Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) noted the bill’s bipartisan appeal but called for more transparency regarding the Trump administration’s broader objectives in the region.

In a parallel effort to address domestic economic pressures, the House passed the “Housing for the 21st Century Act.” The bill aims to increase the supply of affordable homes through a combination of funding, infrastructure grants, and significant regulatory rollbacks.

The legislative push comes as a January Pew Research Center survey revealed that 62% of American adults are “very” concerned about housing costs, trailing only healthcare and food prices as top national anxieties.

Key provisions of the housing legislation include:

Infrastructure Grants: Direct funding for developments and infrastructure to support new residential construction.

Zoning Reform: Incentives for denser, mixed-use developments in areas previously restricted by local zoning laws.

NEPA Streamlining: The bill creates categorical exclusions to exempt smaller-scale housing projects from lengthy environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Manufactured Housing: Reforming construction requirements to increase the availability of manufactured homes as a low-cost alternative.

A central component of the housing bill is the elimination of redundant environmental assessments. Under the new rules, projects that have already received approval through one federal program can bypass secondary reviews if the scope and location remain unchanged.

David M. Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference, praised the bill as a necessary step in a long-term recovery. “We got into this crisis one unit at a time, and we will get out of it the same way,” Dworkin said, emphasizing that the strategy relies on expanding supply and reducing the “soft costs” of construction.

While the House has signaled a clear direction, the legislation now moves to a closely watched negotiation phase with the Senate. In late 2025, the Senate passed its own housing measures as part of a larger package that was later stripped; the upper chamber is currently considering a standalone bill known as the “ROAD to Housing Act.”

Ultimately, House and Senate leadership must reconcile their versions of the housing and foreign aid bills before they reach President Trump’s desk. Analysts suggest that the administration’s support for the housing bill will likely depend on the inclusion of the deregulatory measures aimed at unlocking private investment.