New Senate bill would create a bipartisan, bicameral Joint Select Committee on Afghanistan

Looking to put the Biden administration’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan under greater scrutiny, several Republican senators led by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) recently introduced legislation that would create a bicameral Joint Select Committee on Afghanistan.

The bill, known only as “A bill to establish a Joint Select Committee on Afghanistan to conduct a full investigation and compile a joint report on the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan” (S.170), would create and empower a committee to investigate the withdrawal of the U.S. from Afghanistan, which led to the rapid collapse of the Afghanistan government to the Taliban and, of particular concern to the senators, a great deal of lost military equipment and 13 American deaths. 

“When the Biden Administration disastrously withdrew out of Afghanistan, they left thousands of our Afghan allies behind and severely damaged the United States’ credibility on the world stage,” U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a cosponsor of S.170, said. “Nearly a year and a half later, the American people, especially our brave veterans of the War in Afghanistan, are still owed answers. I am proud to join my colleagues in establishing this bipartisan committee to investigate this colossal failure.” 

While the bill’s supporters slated it as a bipartisan and bicameral effort, it is questionable how likely Democrats will be to support such an investigation. That said, the bill would call for an investigation and report to Congress on: 

1. Actions taken by the government to prepare for a successful withdrawal and protect U.S. personnel
2. Summarized intelligence reports that may have indicated imminent threats at the Hamid Karzai International Airport preceding the deadly attack on Aug. 26, 2021
3. A full, unredacted transcript of the phone call between President Joe Biden and President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan on July 23, 2021
4. Description of the original advice for the United States Armed Forces and the intelligence community as provided to the National Security Council and the White House before the withdrawal
5. Assessment of U.S. and allies’ assets sacrificed in the withdrawal
6. Assessment of discussions between the U.S. government and its allies regarding efforts in Afghanistan and the timeline of decision-making surrounding the withdrawal and refugee concerns

“The world is now a more dangerous place, and the American people are rightfully demanding answers,” Scott said of the events leading to the legislation. “For over a month, I have called on Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi to launch a bipartisan and bicameral investigation into the Biden administration’s failed withdrawal of American forces. They’ve been shamefully silent.”

Scott also compared the committee recommendation to the aftermath of the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s, when the Reagan administration secretly sold arms to Iran despite an arms embargo, hoping to use the proceeds to fund the right-wing Contras rebel group in Nicaragua. Ultimately, that affair was investigated by Congress, and a three-person commission appointed by the president is being investigated.