Under a new bill drafted by the House of Representatives, American taxpayer money would not be used to fund aid for Afghanistan until “wrongfully detained” Americans are released.
The No Freedom, No Funding Act would also require the State Department to provide regular updates on U.S. citizens who are unlawfully detained.
Republican Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, whose Ryan Corbett is among those held in the Taliban-controlled country, said the bill would end billions of dollars that have been sent to Kabul since the “disastrous” 2021 withdrawal.
Corbett, who is from Mueser's district, worked for the humanitarian organization Bloom Afghanistan. He was detained in August 2022 and is reportedly in deteriorating health.
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Corbett has limited contact with his family and remains in a highly secured environment.
The second detainee, George Glezman of Atlanta, Georgia, was detained during a five-day cultural trip to the country in 2022.
The father and husband remain in confinement, including solitary confinement, and are reported to be suffering from hemangiomas (a blood vessel disease), malnutrition and hypertension.
The bill adds that the Secretary of State would make the final determination as to whether Americans held in Afghanistan are being unlawfully detained.
Muether said the United States has provided more than $2.6 billion in aid since President Joe Biden withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan and remains the largest humanitarian donor to Afghanistan.
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Taliban fighters celebrate the third anniversary of the U.S.-led withdrawal from Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Associated Press/Siddiqullah Alizai) (AP Photo/Sidiqullah Alizai)
“Last month, three years after the Biden-Harris administration withdrew from Afghanistan, allowing the Taliban to seize control of the country, the administration has continued to provide billions of dollars in humanitarian aid to the terrorist group, even as the Taliban wrongfully imprisoned Americans like Ryan Corbett and George Glezman,” Muether said.
“We must utilize all options, including withholding financial support, to secure the release of Ryan and George.”
Meuser's bill has since gained several sponsors, including Reps. Bill Posey (R-Fla.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), French Hill (R-Arkansas) and Greg Lopez (R-Colo.).
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Images of fallen U.S. soldiers are on display during a press conference by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, September 9, 2024, as he releases his committee's Afghanistan report and the findings of a three-year investigation into the deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Corbett has been accused of “anti-national activities” but no formal charges have been filed, his wife, Anna, said in a January interview on “Fox & Friends.”
“We received photos from the Qatari man's second visit and he was so skinny. He looked about 15 years older. We received the photos and it was really painful to look at him.”
Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York added at the time that the State Department had been “very cooperative” in working with Qatar to allow the meeting with Ryan Corbett.
“[Anna] “Over the last 16 months, we've only had 22 minutes of actual communication with him. We're just asking everyone to help rescue him and bring him back.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
