I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7343 

To limit the use of funds to reduce the number of Armed Forces deployed 

to Afghanistan, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2020 

Mr. CROW (for himself, Ms. CHENEY, Mr. WALTZ, and Mrs. DAVIS of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To limit the use of funds to reduce the number of Armed 

Forces deployed to Afghanistan, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Afghanistan Partner5 ship and Transparency Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS TO REDUCE DE2 PLOYMENT TO AFGHANISTAN. 

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that— 

5 (1) it is in the national security interests of the 

6 United States to deny terrorists safe haven in Af7 ghanistan, protect the United States homeland, up8 hold the United States partnership with the Govern9 ment of Afghanistan and cooperation with the Af10 ghan National Defense and Security Forces, and 

11 protect the hard-fought rights of women, girls, and 

12 other vulnerable populations in Afghanistan; 

13 (2) a rapid military drawdown and a lack of 

14 United States commitment to the security and sta15 bility of Afghanistan would undermine diplomatic ef16 forts for peace; 

17 (3) the current agreement between the United 

18 States and the Taliban does not provide for the ap19 propriate protections for vulnerable populations, 

20 does not create conditions for the rejection of vio21 lence and prevention of terrorist safe havens, and 

22 does not represent a realistic diplomatic solution, 

23 based on verifiable facts and conditions on the 

24 ground, that provides for long-term stability; and 

25 (4) the Administration has a constitutional obli26 gation to provide Congress with timely and comVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:14 Jul 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7343.IH H7343

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1 prehensive information on the status of security op2 erations and diplomatic efforts in a form that can be 

3 transparently communicated to the American people. 

4 (b) LIMITATION.—Until the date on which the Sec5 retary of Defense, in concurrence with each covered offi6 cial, submits the report described in subsection (c) to the 

7 appropriate congressional committees, none of the 

8 amounts authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 

9 2020 or 2021 for the Department of Defense may be obli10 gated or expended for any activity having either of the 

11 following effects: 

12 (1) Reducing the total number of Armed Forces 

13 deployed to Afghanistan below the lesser of— 

14 (A) 8,000, or 

15 (B) the total number of the Armed Forces 

16 deployed as of the date of the enactment of this 

17 Act. 

18 (2) Reducing the total number of Armed Forces 

19 deployed to Afghanistan below 5,000. 

20 (c) REPORT.—The report described in this subsection 

21 shall include each of the following: 

22 (1) A certification that the intended withdrawal 

23 of the United States Armed Forces in Afghani24 stan— 


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1 (A) will not compromise or otherwise nega2 tively affect the ongoing United States counter3 terrorism mission against the Islamic State, al4 Qaeda, and associated forces; 

5 (B) will not unduly increase the risk to 

6 United States personnel in Afghanistan; 

7 (C) will not increase the risk for the ex8 pansion of existing or formation of new ter9 rorist safe havens inside Afghanistan; 

10 (D) will be undertaken with the consulta11 tion and coordination of allies supporting the 

12 United States- and North Atlantic Treaty Or13 ganization-led missions; and 

14 (E) is in the best interest of United States 

15 national security and in furtherance of United 

16 States policy toward Afghanistan for achieving 

17 an enduring diplomatic solution. 

18 (2) An analysis of the impact that the intended 

19 withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Af20 ghanistan would have on each of the following: 

21 (A) The threat posed by the Taliban and 

22 terrorist organizations, including by each cov23 ered terrorist organization, to— 

24 (i) the United States homeland; 

25 (ii) United States interests abroad; 


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1 (iii) allied countries of the North At2 lantic Treaty Organization; 

3 (iv) the Government of Afghanistan; 

4 and 

5 (v) regional peace and security. 

6 (B) The status of the human and civil 

7 rights (including access to voting, education, 

8 justice, and economic opportunities) of women, 

9 girls, people with disabilities, religious and eth10 nic minorities, and other vulnerable populations 

11 in Afghanistan. 

12 (C) Transparent, credible, and inclusive 

13 political processes in Afghanistan. 

14 (D) The capacity of the Afghan National 

15 Defense and Security Forces to effectively— 

16 (i) prevent or defend against attacks 

17 by the Taliban or by terrorist organiza18 tions (including by each covered terrorist 

19 organization) on civilian populations; 

20 (ii) prevent the takeover of one or 

21 more provincial capitals by the Taliban or 

22 by associated organizations; 

23 (iii) conduct counterterrorism oper24 ations necessary to deny safe harbor to terVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:14 Jul 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7343.IH H7343

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1 rorist organizations, including each covered 

2 terrorist organization; and 

3 (iv) maintain institutional order and 

4 discipline. 

5 (E) The influence of malign state actors on 

6 the sovereignty of Afghanistan and the strategic 

7 national security interests of the United States 

8 in the region. 

9 (F) Any other matter the Secretary of De10 fense, in concurrence with each covered official, 

11 determines appropriate. 

12 (3) An assessment of the manner and extent to 

13 which— 

14 (A) the Taliban has publicly renounced al15 Qaeda; 

16 (B) the Taliban has made any efforts to 

17 break with al-Qaeda since February 29, 2020, 

18 and a description of these efforts; 

19 (C) any senior al-Qaeda leaders, including 

20 Ayman al-Zawahiri, or any leaders of al-Qaeda 

21 in the Indian Subcontinent, have been present 

22 in Afghanistan since February 29, 2020, and if 

23 so, the names of the leaders, the dates they 

24 were present in Afghanistan, and their other lo25 cations since February 29, 2020; 


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1 (D) any members of al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda in 

2 the Indian Subcontinent, al-Qaeda-affiliated 

3 groups, or any covered terrorist organization 

4 have, since February 29, 2020— 

5 (i) fought alongside, trained alongside, 

6 otherwise operated alongside, or sheltered 

7 with the Taliban in Afghanistan; 

8 (ii) conducted attacks inside Afghani9 stan, and, if so, the dates and locations of 

10 such attacks; 

11 (iii) operated training camps or re12 lated facilities inside Afghanistan, and, if 

13 so, the locations of those camps or facili14 ties; 

15 (iv) traveled from Afghanistan to 

16 Pakistan or Iran, or from Pakistan or Iran 

17 to Afghanistan; 

18 (v) continued to have ties to any 

19 Taliban leaders or members located in 

20 Pakistan; or 

21 (vi) continued to work with the 

22 Haqqani Network; 

23 (E) any of the prisoners released by the 

24 Government of Afghanistan as a result of the 


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1 February 29, 2020, agreement between the 

2 United States and Taliban— 

3 (i) are members of, or have ties to, 

4 any covered terrorist organizations or any 

5 other organization designated by the 

6 United States as a foreign terrorist organi7 zation pursuant to section 219 of the Im8 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

9 1189) and, if so, the names of such former 

10 prisoners and the reasons for their deten11 tion inside Afghanistan; or 

12 (ii) are suspected of taking part in at13 tacks against American service members or 

14 civilians or attacks that caused American 

15 casualties and, if so, the names of the pris16 oners, the date and location of such at17 tacks, and the number of American casual18 ties attributed to such attacks; 

19 (F) any of the prisoners the Taliban has 

20 requested for release, but who have not yet been 

21 released as of the date of the enactment of this 

22 Act, are members of, or have ties to, any cov23 ered terrorist organizations or any other organi24 zation designated by the United States as a for25 eign terrorist organization pursuant to section 


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1 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

2 U.S.C. 1189) and, if so, the names of the pris3 oners and the organizations to which they are 

4 affiliated; and 

5 (G) senior Taliban leaders, including mem6 bers of the Haqqani Network, who are located 

7 in Pakistan continue to exercise control over the 

8 insurgency in Afghanistan. 

9 (4) The number of attacks that the Taliban has 

10 carried out in Afghanistan since February 29, 2020, 

11 including the location and date of each attack as 

12 well as casualties related to each attack. 

13 (d) FORM.—The report described in subsection (c) 

14 shall be submitted in unclassified form without any des15 ignation relating to dissemination control, but may contain 

16 a classified annex that is accompanied by an unclassified 

17 summary of the annex. 

18 (e) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Defense may waive 

19 the limitation under subsection (b) if, in consultation with 

20 the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Com21 mander of United States Forces, Afghanistan, the Sec22 retary— 

23 (1) determines that the waiver is— 


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1 (A) necessary due to an imminent and ex2 traordinary threat to members of the United 

3 States Armed Forces in the Afghanistan; or 

4 (B) vital to the national security interests 

5 of the United States; and 

6 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 

7 committees a detailed, written justification for such 

8 waiver, not later than 10 days after the effective 

9 date of the waiver; and 

10 (3) in the case of a determination described in 

11 paragraph (1)(A), includes in such justification each 

12 of the following: 

13 (A) A detailed description of the change in 

14 threat assessment leading to the determination. 

15 (B) An explanation for the reasons for 

16 which existing force protection mechanisms 

17 were not sufficient to reasonably ensure the 

18 safety of members of the Armed Forces. 

19 (C) The steps that have been taken to en20 sure that United States equipment does not fall 

21 into enemy hands. 

22 (D) A description of the coordination with 

23 allied countries of the North Atlantic Treaty 

24 Organization and with other allies and partners 

25 with respect to the withdrawal. 


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1 (E) A description of the coordination with 

2 the Department of State to ensure the safety of 

3 American citizens in Afghanistan in light of and 

4 subsequent to the withdrawal. 

5 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means— 

9 (A) the Committee on Armed Services of 

10 the House of Representatives and the Com11 mittee on Armed Services of the Senate; 

12 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

13 the House of Representatives and the Com14 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and 

15 (C) the Permanent Select Committee on 

16 Intelligence of the House of Representatives 

17 and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

18 Senate. 

19 (2) COVERED OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

20 official’’ means— 

21 (A) the Secretary of State; 

22 (B) the Director of National Intelligence; 

23 (C) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 

24 Staff; 


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1 (D) the Commander of United States Cen2 tral Command; 

3 (E) the Commander of United States 

4 Forces, Afghanistan; and 

5 (F) the United States Permanent Rep6 resentative to the North Atlantic Treaty Orga7 nization. 

8 (3) COVERED TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.—The 

9 term ‘‘covered terrorist organization’’ means any of 

10 the following: 

11 (A) al-Qaeda and affiliates, including al12 Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. 

13 (B) The Islamic State and affiliates. 

14 (C) Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan. 

15 (D) The Haqqani Network. 

16 (E) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. 

17 (F) Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement. 

18 (G) Ansralluh. 

19 (H) Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (including under 

20 the alias Jamaat-ud-Dawa). 

21 (I) Jaish-e-Mohammed. 

22 (J) Harakat ul-Jihad-Islami. 

23 (K) Harakat ul-Mujahidin. 

24 (L) Jaysh al-Adl. 

25 (M) Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. 


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1 (N) Mullah Nasir Group. 

2 (O) Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group. 

3 (P) Lashkar-i-Islam. 

4 (Q) Islamic Jihad Union Group. 

5 (R) Jamaat-ud-Dawa al Quran. 

6 (S) Ansarul Islam. 

Æ 


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