What This Bill Does
This bill stops the United States from giving money to UNRWA (the United Nations agency that helps Palestinian refugees) unless certain conditions are met. The Secretary of State must certify in writing that UNRWA meets specific requirements before any U.S. funding can be provided. The bill also limits how much the U.S. can contribute compared to other countries' donations.
##
Who It Affects
The Secretary of State, Congress (Foreign Relations and Appropriations committees in both chambers), UNRWA and its employees, UNRWA partner organizations, UNRWA contractors and subcontractors, Palestinian refugees receiving UNRWA services, financial institutions that work with UNRWA, and other countries that fund UNRWA.
##
Key Provisions
* The Secretary of State cannot approve U.S. funding to UNRWA unless they certify that no UNRWA official, employee, or contractor is a member of a foreign terrorist organization like Hamas or Hezbollah, or has ties to terrorism (Sec. 3)
* The Secretary must certify that no UNRWA employee has spread anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic statements, including denying Israel's right to exist, calling for Israel's destruction, or supporting boycotts against Israel (Sec. 3)
* UNRWA schools and facilities cannot be used by terrorist organizations for operations, training, weapons storage, or access to underground tunnels (Sec. 3)
* UNRWA must undergo financial audits by an independent auditing firm that both Israel and the Palestinian Authority agree on (Sec. 3)
* Any certification from the Secretary of State expires after 180 days unless renewed, and the Secretary must tell Congress if a certification becomes inaccurate (Sec. 3)
* The U.S. contribution to UNRWA in any year cannot be larger than the largest contribution from any League of Arab States member country for that year (Sec. 3)
* The Secretary of State must report to Congress every year on efforts to encourage other countries to adopt the Palestinian refugee definition in this bill and to push other countries to withhold UNRWA funding until conditions are met (Sec. 4)
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What Changes
If this becomes law, the United States will not be able to send money to UNRWA without the Secretary of State first certifying that UNRWA meets all specified conditions regarding terrorist affiliations, anti-Semitic rhetoric, facility misuse, financial audits, educational materials, and money laundering. Current U.S. funding to UNRWA will stop until these certifications are submitted. Additionally, any U.S. contributions will be capped at the level of the largest Arab League member country's contribution. The Secretary of State will be required to work on a plan to encourage other nations to do the same and to help phase out UNRWA operations.
##
Important Definitions
* **Palestinian refugee:** A person who lived in Mandatory Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, was personally displaced because of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, and has not accepted permanent legal status or citizenship in another country (Sec. 2)
* **Derivative refugee status:** Can only be extended to a spouse or minor child of a Palestinian refugee (Sec. 2)
* **Anti-Semitic:** Uses the definition adopted May 26, 2016, by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, including contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, media, schools, workplaces, and religious settings (Sec. 3)
* **Foreign terrorist organization:** An organization officially designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Secretary of State (Sec. 3)
* **Boycott of, divestment from, and sanctions against Israel:** Has the meaning given in section 909(f)(1) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (Sec. 3)
##
Effective Date
The Secretary of State must submit the annual report within 180 days of the bill being enacted and every year after that. Certifications expire 180 days after submission unless renewed or become inaccurate sooner. No other effective date is specified in the bill text.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 431
To withhold United States contributions to the United Nations Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),
and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 15, 2023
Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mrs.
BLACKBURN, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. SCOTT of South Caro-
lina, Mr. THUNE, Mr. LEE, Mr. HAGERTY, Ms. ERNST, Mr. BUDD, and
Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re-
ferred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
A BILL
To withhold United States contributions to the United Na-
tions Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East (UNRWA), and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘UNRWA Account-
4
ability and Transparency Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
6
(a) PALESTINIAN REFUGEE DEFINED.—It shall be
7
the policy of the United States, in matters concerning the
8
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•S 431 IS
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
1
Refugees in the Near East (referred to in this Act as
2
‘‘UNRWA’’), which operates in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan,
3
the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, to define a Pales-
4
tinian refugee as a person who—
5
(1) resided, between June 1946 and May 1948,
6
in the region controlled by Britain between 1922
7
and 1948 that was known as Mandatory Palestine;
8
(2) was personally displaced as a result of the
9
1948 Arab-Israeli conflict; and
10
(3) has not accepted an offer of legal residency
11
status, citizenship, or other permanent adjustment
12
in status in another country or territory.
13
(b) LIMITATIONS
ON REFUGEE
AND DERIVATIVE
14
REFUGEE STATUS.—In applying the definition under sub-
15
section (a) with respect to refugees receiving assistance
16
from UNRWA, it shall be the policy of the United States,
17
consistent with the definition of refugee in section
18
101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
19
U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)) and the requirements for eligibility
20
for refugee status under section 207 of such Act (8 U.S.C.
21
1157), that—
22
(1) derivative refugee status may only be ex-
23
tended to the spouse or a minor child of a Pales-
24
tinian refugee; and
25
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•S 431 IS
(2) an alien who is firmly resettled in any coun-
1
try is not eligible to retain refugee status.
2
SEC. 3. UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNRWA.
3
Section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
4
(22 U.S.C. 2221) is amended to read as follows:
5
‘‘(c) WITHHOLDING.—
6
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
7
‘‘(A) ANTI-SEMITIC.—The term ‘anti-Se-
8
mitic’—
9
‘‘(i) has the meaning adopted on May
10
26, 2016, by the International Holocaust
11
Remembrance Alliance as the non-legally
12
binding working definition of antisemitism;
13
and
14
‘‘(ii) includes the contemporary exam-
15
ples of antisemitism in public life, the
16
media, schools, the workplace, and in the
17
religious sphere identified on such date by
18
the International Holocaust Remembrance
19
Alliance.
20
‘‘(B) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COM-
21
MITTEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional
22
committees’ means—
23
‘‘(i) the Committee on Foreign Rela-
24
tions of the Senate;
25
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•S 431 IS
‘‘(ii) the Committee on Appropriations
1
of the Senate;
2
‘‘(iii) the Committee on Foreign Af-
3
fairs of the House of Representatives; and
4
‘‘(iv) the Committee on Appropria-
5
tions of the House of Representatives.
6
‘‘(C) BOYCOTT
OF, DIVESTMENT
FROM,
7
AND
SANCTIONS
AGAINST
ISRAEL.—The term
8
‘boycott of, divestment from, and sanctions
9
against Israel’ has the meaning given to such
10
term in section 909(f)(1) of the Trade Facilita-
11
tion and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (19
12
U.S.C. 4452(f)(1)).
13
‘‘(D)
FOREIGN
TERRORIST
ORGANIZA-
14
TION.—The term ‘foreign terrorist organization’
15
means an organization designated as a foreign
16
terrorist organization by the Secretary of State
17
in accordance with section 219(a) of the Immi-
18
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)).
19
‘‘(E)
UNRWA.—The
term
‘UNRWA’
20
means the United Nations Relief and Works
21
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
22
East.
23
‘‘(2)
CERTIFICATION.—Notwithstanding
any
24
other provision of law, the United States may not
25
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•S 431 IS
provide contributions to UNRWA, to any successor
1
or related entity, or to the regular budget of the
2
United Nations for the support of UNRWA or a
3
successor entity (through staff positions provided by
4
the United Nations Secretariat or otherwise) unless
5
the Secretary of State submits a written certification
6
to the appropriate congressional committees that—
7
‘‘(A) no official, employee, consultant, con-
8
tractor, subcontractor, representative, affiliate
9
of UNRWA, an UNRWA partner organization,
10
or an UNRWA contracting entity pursuant to
11
completion of a thorough vetting and back-
12
ground check process—
13
‘‘(i) is a member of, is affiliated with,
14
or has any ties to a foreign terrorist orga-
15
nization, including Hamas and Hezbollah;
16
‘‘(ii) has advocated, planned, spon-
17
sored, or engaged in any terrorist activity;
18
‘‘(iii) has propagated or disseminated
19
anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic
20
rhetoric, incitement, or propaganda, in-
21
cluding—
22
‘‘(I) calling for or encouraging
23
the destruction of Israel;
24
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•S 431 IS
‘‘(II) failing to recognize Israel’s
1
right to exist;
2
‘‘(III) showing maps without
3
Israel;
4
‘‘(IV) describing Israelis as ‘occu-
5
piers’ or ‘settlers’;
6
‘‘(V) advocating, endorsing, or
7
expressing support for violence, ha-
8
tred, jihad, martyrdom, or terrorism,
9
glorifying, honoring, or otherwise me-
10
morializing any person or group that
11
has advocated, sponsored, or com-
12
mitted acts of terrorism, or providing
13
material support to terrorists or their
14
families;
15
‘‘(VI) expressing support for boy-
16
cott of, divestment from, and sanc-
17
tions against Israel (commonly re-
18
ferred to as ‘BDS’);
19
‘‘(VII) claiming or advocating for
20
a ‘right of return’ of refugees into
21
Israel;
22
‘‘(VIII) ignoring, denying, or not
23
recognizing the historic connection of
24
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•S 431 IS
the Jewish people to the land of
1
Israel; and
2
‘‘(IX) calling for violence against
3
Americans; or
4
‘‘(iv) has used any UNRWA re-
5
sources, including publications, websites, or
6
social media platforms, to propagate or
7
disseminate anti-American, anti-Israel, or
8
anti-Semitic rhetoric, incitement, or propa-
9
ganda, including with respect to any of the
10
matters
described
in
subclauses
(I)
11
through (IX) of clause (iii);
12
‘‘(B) no UNRWA school, hospital, clinic,
13
facility, or other infrastructure or resource is
14
being used by a foreign terrorist organization or
15
any member thereof—
16
‘‘(i) for terrorist activities, such as op-
17
erations, planning, training, recruitment,
18
fundraising,
indoctrination,
communica-
19
tions, sanctuary, storage of weapons or
20
other materials; or
21
‘‘(ii) as an access point to any under-
22
ground tunnel network, or any other ter-
23
rorist-related purposes;
24
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•S 431 IS
‘‘(C) UNRWA is subject to comprehensive
1
financial audits by an internationally recognized
2
third party independent auditing firm that—
3
‘‘(i) is agreed upon by the Govern-
4
ment of Israel and the Palestinian Author-
5
ity; and
6
‘‘(ii) has implemented an effective sys-
7
tem of vetting and oversight to prevent the
8
use, receipt, or diversion of any UNRWA
9
resources by any foreign terrorist organiza-
10
tion or members thereof;
11
‘‘(D) no UNRWA controlled or funded fa-
12
cility, such as a school, an educational institu-
13
tion, or a summer camp, uses textbooks or
14
other educational materials that propagate or
15
disseminate anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-
16
Semitic rhetoric, incitement, or propaganda, in-
17
cluding with respect to any of the matters de-
18
scribed in subclauses (I) through (IX) of sub-
19
paragraph (A)(iii);
20
‘‘(E) no recipient of UNRWA funds or
21
loans is—
22
‘‘(i) a member of, is affiliated with, or
23
has any ties to a foreign terrorist organiza-
24
tion; or
25
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•S 431 IS
‘‘(ii) otherwise engaged in terrorist ac-
1
tivities; and
2
‘‘(F) UNRWA holds no accounts or other
3
affiliations with financial institutions that the
4
United States considers or believes to be
5
complicit in money laundering and terror fi-
6
nancing.
7
‘‘(3) PERIOD OF EFFECTIVENESS.—
8
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A certification de-
9
scribed in paragraph (2) shall be effective until
10
the earlier of—
11
‘‘(i) the date on which the Secretary
12
receives information rendering the certifi-
13
cation described in paragraph (2) factually
14
inaccurate; or
15
‘‘(ii) the date that is 180 days after
16
the date on which it is submitted to the
17
appropriate congressional committees.
18
‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF RENUNCIATION.—
19
If a certification becomes ineffective pursuant
20
to subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall
21
promptly notify the appropriate congressional
22
committees of the reasons for renouncing or
23
failing to renew such certification.
24
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•S 431 IS
‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—During any year in which a
1
certification described in paragraph (1) is in effect,
2
the United States may not contribute to UNRWA,
3
or to any successor entity, an amount that—
4
‘‘(A) is greater than the highest contribu-
5
tion to UNRWA made by a member country of
6
the League of Arab States for such year; and
7
‘‘(B) is greater (as a proportion of the
8
total UNRWA budget) than the proportion of
9
the total budget for the United Nations High
10
Commissioner for Refugees paid by the United
11
States.’’.
12
SEC. 4. REPORT.
13
(a) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMITTEES
14
DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con-
15
gressional committees’’ means—
16
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
17
Senate;
18
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the
19
Senate;
20
(3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
21
House of Representatives; and
22
(4) the Committee on Appropriations of the
23
House of Representatives.
24
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•S 431 IS
(b) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the
1
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,
2
the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the appro-
3
priate congressional committees describing the actions
4
being taken to implement a comprehensive plan for—
5
(1) encouraging other countries to adopt the
6
policy regarding Palestinian refugees that is de-
7
scribed in section 2;
8
(2) urging other countries to withhold their
9
contributions to UNRWA, to any successor or re-
10
lated entity, or to the regular budget of the United
11
Nations for the support of UNRWA or a successor
12
entity (through staff positions provided by the
13
United Nations Secretariat or otherwise) until
14
UNRWA has met the conditions listed in subpara-
15
graphs (A) through (F) of section 301(c)(2) of the
16
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section
17
3;
18
(3) working with other countries to phase out
19
UNRWA and assist Palestinians receiving UNRWA
20
services by—
21
(A) integrating such Palestinians into their
22
local communities in the countries in which they
23
are residing; or
24
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•S 431 IS
(B) resettling such Palestinians in coun-
1
tries other than Israel or territories controlled
2
by Israel in the West Bank in accordance with
3
international humanitarian principles; and
4
(4) ensuring that the actions described in para-
5
graph (3)—
6
(A) are being implemented in complete co-
7
ordination with, and with the support of, Israel;
8
and
9
(B) do not endanger the security of Israel
10
in any way.
11
Æ
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