A bipartisan group of 51 lawmakers urged House negotiators to continue the flow of dollars for a visa program for Afghans fleeing Taliban control of their country.
Reps. Jason Crow, Democrat of Colorado, and Zach Nunn, Republican of Iowa, wrote to top House appropriators as they continue to negotiate federal funding for the remainder of fiscal year 2025.
“We are writing to urge you to maintain important provisions of the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program in the FY 2025 appropriations package. Authorization of the new Afghan Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) is critical to the screening and transfer of eligible Afghan principal applicants currently in the processing phase,” they wrote to House Appropriations Committee President Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, and others.
This comes at a time when President-elect Trump has promised to work on sharp spending cuts in the upcoming federal funding battles. He wrote on Truth Social last week that “US will cut spending by hundreds of billions of dollars next year through reconciliation!”
Lawmakers are calling for the preservation of the Afghan visa program as President-elect Trump pledges sharp spending cuts. (Getty Images)
People in Trump's orbit, including some House Republicans, are pushing for him to have greater control over how money allocated to Congress is spent.
Meanwhile, Trump appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy last month to lead a cost-cutting advisory panel dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The duo have already positioned themselves as influential players in congressional spending debates as well He led the revolution Against the 1,547-page government funding bill that was the product of bipartisan negotiations. But they haven't said where they want to see Congress cut back on spending.
Reps. Jason Crow and Zach Nunn, both veterans, led the bipartisan letter. (Getty Images)
The 51 lawmakers calling for the preservation of Afghanistan's special immigration program see it as “a path to saving the lives of Afghan citizens who face grave danger as a result of their work alongside U.S. forces, diplomats and contractors.”
“Congress must continue this work so that the State Department can issue visas to eligible Afghans who face imminent threats from the Taliban, ISIS, and other hostile groups because of their service to the United States and our allies,” they wrote.
The Afghan Special Immigration Program was first activated in 2009, but saw new significance after the Taliban's lightning-speed takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 — which precipitated the U.S. withdrawal after decades of presence in the Middle Eastern country.
Congress has approved additional visas under the program every year since fiscal year 2019, according to the letter.
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Congressional negotiators have so far failed to reach an agreement on fiscal year 2025 spending, forcing lawmakers to pass two extensions of funding levels last year to prevent a partial budget shortfall. Government shutdown.
The latest extension, called a continuing resolution (CR), gives lawmakers until March 14 to reach an agreement.
