The Biden State Department reportedly failed to pay nearly $700,000 to the Northern Virginia Emergency Response System (NVERS), a nonprofit partnership of Virginia governments, hospitals, and other private sector groups, after it was called to support the Biden administration’s relocation of Afghan citizens in the aftermath of the 2021 withdrawal of the United States military from Afghanistan.
A letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken detailing the unpaid debt was signed by six Democrats representing Virginia in Congress, including Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, as well as Representatives Jennifer Wexton (VA-10), Don Beyer (VA-08), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), and Gerry Connolly (VA-11).
In their letter, the Democrats expressed their “deep disappointment” in the State Department’s “continued failure” to reimburse $687,298.38 to NVERS for “critical services rendered more than two years ago during the evacuation of Afghans to the United States.”
NVERS describes itself as a “collaborative partnership between local governments, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the private sector” that “enhances the ability of public safety agencies and partner organizations to effectively prepare for, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism and other major emergencies.”
According to the Democrats’ letter to Blinken, “with no advance coordination,” the State Department called on NVERS to help facilitate the relocation of “more than 115,000 Afghans to the United States,” and their participation was vital due to “lack of a coordinated federal response during the initial stages of the evacuation.”
Referencing apparent previous attempts to secure payment for NVERS from the Biden administration through the State Department, the letter suggests Blinken or other federal officials claimed NVERS provided support without direction from the federal government and does not deserve to be compensated for its actions as a result.
After calling the lack of payment “outrageous,” the Democrats declared, “for the Department to suggest to us that NVERS acted unilaterally in delivering these critical services… completely overlooks the Department’s own shortcomings in creating this unfunded mandate.”
The Democrats’ rebuke of Blinken and the agency’s apparent failure to reimburse the Virginia nonprofit follow a State Department report released last year that revealed it did not know who was in charge of the department’s role in coordinating the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.
Blaming both the Biden and Trump administrations, the report ultimately revealed that withdrawal plans for forces in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, “was hindered by the fact that it was unclear who in the Department had the lead.”
Intelligence agencies reportedly failed to anticipate the fall of Kabul, and during the evacuation, a terrorist suicide bombing killed 13 American troops and around 170 civilians. In response, the Biden administration ordered a retaliatory strike against the wrong vehicle, killing 10 civilians.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
