House panel denies aid to Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — A House foreign aid panel has voted to cut off almost $4 billion in aid to the government of Afghanistan pending an investigation into charges that Afghan officials are blocking corruption probes and huge amounts of foreign aid is being stolen.

The bipartisan move comes after The Washington Post alleged that top officials in President Hamid Karzai's government were blocking corruption probes of political allies and that Afghan powerbrokers are moving millions of dollars out of the country.
Lawmakers are instead demanding that the Government Accountability Office conduct an audit of billions of dollar of past U.S. aid.
The moves came as the appropriations panel approved a $53 billion measure funding foreign aid for the upcoming budget year.