PROHIBITION ON FUNDING FOR THE TALIBAN.

SEC. 1272. PROHIBITION ON FUNDING FOR THE TALIBAN. (a) Prohibition on Funding.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2024 may be made available to provide any form of United States assistance to the Taliban or to any Taliban affiliate. (b) National Security Certification.—The Secretary of Defense may waive the prohibition under subsection (a) on a case-by-case basis if the Secretary submits to the congressional defense committees an unclassified, written certification, which may include a classified annex, that such prohibition would be detrimental to national security interests of the United States or threaten the health and safety of the Afghan people. (c) Affiliate Defined.—In this section, the term “affiliate” means, with respect to the Taliban— (1) a person that is closely associated with the Taliban; or (2) a person that has a common purpose with the Taliban.