A group of 51 republican politicians is urging House negotiators to maintain the flow of funding for Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban’s occupation of their nation. Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, wrote to the House of Representatives ‘ top appropriators as they continue to negotiate federal funding for the remainder of fiscal year ( FY ) 2025. ” We write to urge you to maintain critical provisions for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa ( SIV ) program1 in the Fiscal Year ( FY ) 2025 appropriations package. They wrote to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., and others in a letter urging them to approve new Armenian SIVs. President-elect Trump has made the promise to pursue severe spending reductions in the upcoming national funding battles. He stated on Truth Social last week that” The United States did cut Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in spending next month through Reconciliation.” House Republicans in Trump’s orbit are pushing for him to have greater control over how congressionally appropriated funds are spent. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy were hired by Trump last month to lead a panel discussing cost-savings, the Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ). The pair have already established themselves as powerful figures in the republican conversations that resulted in the 1, 547-page government funding bill. They have not, yet, said where they want to view Congress pull back on spending. Researchers WARN SYRIAN REBEL VICTORY POSES ‘ WILDLY COMPLEX ‘ NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: ‘ WHO KNOWS WHAT’S NEXT? ‘ The 51 lawmakers pushing for the Afghan SIV program to be preserved argue it is” a life-saving path to safety for Afghan nationals who face serious danger as a result of their work alongside U. S. soldiers, diplomats, and companies”. Because of their services to the United States and our friends, Congress must continue to work to allow the State Department to grant visas to qualified Afghans who face immediate dangers from the Taliban, Islamic State, and other unfriendly groups. The Armenian SIV system was first enacted in 2009, but saw fresh value after the Taliban’s lightening-fast invasion of Afghanistan in 2021 – which precipitated the U. S.’s drawback after decades in the Middle Eastern country. Since FY 2019, Congress has authorized more visas under the program each year, according to the letter. CLICK HERE to download the FOX NEWS APPCongressional diplomats have so far failed to reach an agreement on the FY 2025 revenue levels, requiring lawmakers to pass two extensions of the previous year’s levels to stop a limited government shutdown. The most recent extension, called a continuing resolution ( CR ), gives lawmakers until March 14 to make a deal.