Letter to Hon. Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State - Rep. Ted Budd Calls Out State Department for "Lack of Communication" on Stranded Americans in Afghanistan

Letter

Dear Secretary Blinken,

I write to express my grave concerns regarding the lack of communication between the State
Department and congressional offices regarding inquiries into the status of stranded Americans,
Special Immigrant Visa holders (SIVs), SIV applicants, and P1&P2 refugees in Afghanistan. The
majority of my office's inquiries have gone unanswered for weeks. In the rare instance where a
response is received, it is typically a generic response with little to no substantive information. I
urge you to take concrete steps to address this breakdown in communication.

There are offices that have submitted dozens--and in some cases, hundreds--of inquiries to the
State Department with little to no feedback. In many instances, my staff must recontact families
who raised their concerns about relatives to receive updates on whether or not they safely
evacuated Afghanistan or are still in country. It is quite frankly appalling that offices are
receiving more information from family members about the status of people trapped in
Afghanistan than from our own State Department.

This lack of transparency from the State Department is more than an inconvenience. It is a matter
of life and death. Our country has a duty to help every American still trapped in Afghanistan. We
are also committed to helping the brave Afghan nationals who put their lives on the line to serve
the United States. These allies were promised protection in return for their service. Sadly, as
recent events have made clear, more must be done to fulfill that promise. Each day that goes by
without action is adding to the reputational harm our country has recently endured over the
mismanagement of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

I urge you to open the lines of communication with all congressional offices and address my
staff's inquiries into the statuses of those whom we promised help. Our constituent services staff
stand ready to assist the State Department in helping our constituents and allies. This issue
cannot wait any longer.

Sincerely,

Source