[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4721 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4721
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 27, 2021
Mr. Roy (for himself, Mr. Perry, Mr. Mast, Mr. Jackson, Ms. Tenney, Ms.
Herrell, Mr. Gaetz, Mr. DesJarlais, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Bishop
of North Carolina, Mr. Babin, Mr. Van Drew, Mr. Budd, Mr. Steube, Mr.
McKinley, Mr. Cawthorn, Mr. Gooden of Texas, Mr. Davidson, Mr.
McClintock, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Moore of Alabama,
Ms. Mace, Mr. Cloud, Mrs. Cammack, Mr. Donalds, Mr. Weber of Texas, and
Mr. Palazzo) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``UNRWA Accountability and
Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
(a) Palestinian Refugee Defined.--It shall be the policy of the
United States, in matters concerning the United Nations Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (referred to in
this Act as ``UNRWA''), which operates in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the
Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, to define a Palestinian refugee as a
person who--
(1) resided, between June 1946 and May 1948, in the region
controlled by Britain between 1922 and 1948 that was known as
Mandatory Palestine;
(2) was personally displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-
Israeli conflict; and
(3) has not accepted an offer of legal residency status,
citizenship, or other permanent adjustment in status in another
country or territory.
(b) Limitations on Refugee and Derivative Refugee Status.--In
applying the definition under subsection (a) with respect to refugees
receiving assistance from UNRWA, it shall be the policy of the United
States, consistent with the definition of refugee in section 101(a)(42)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)) and the
requirements for eligibility for refugee status under section 207 of
such Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), that--
(1) derivative refugee status may only be extended to the
spouse or a minor child of a Palestinian refugee; and
(2) an alien who is firmly resettled in any country is not
eligible to retain refugee status.
SEC. 3. UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNRWA.
Section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2221) is amended to read as follows:
``(c) Withholding.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Anti-semitic.--The term `anti-Semitic'--
``(i) has the meaning adopted on May 26,
2016, by the International Holocaust
Remembrance Alliance as the non-legally binding
working definition of antisemitism; and
``(ii) includes the contemporary examples
of antisemitism in public life, the media,
schools, the workplace, and in the religious
sphere identified on such date by the
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
``(B) Appropriate congressional committees.--The
term `appropriate congressional committees' means--
``(i) the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the Senate;
``(ii) the Committee on Appropriations of
the Senate;
``(iii) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of
the House of Representatives; and
``(iv) the Committee on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives.
``(C) Boycott of, divestment from, and sanctions
against israel.--The term `boycott of, divestment from,
and sanctions against Israel' has the meaning given to
such term in section 909(f)(1) of the Trade
Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (19
U.S.C. 4452(f)(1)).
``(D) Foreign terrorist organization.--The term
`foreign terrorist organization' means an organization
designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the
Secretary of State in accordance with section 219(a) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)).
``(E) UNRWA.--The term `UNRWA' means the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East.
``(2) Certification.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, the United States may not provide contributions to
UNRWA, to any successor or related entity, or to the regular
budget of the United Nations for the support of UNRWA or a
successor entity (through staff positions provided by the
United Nations Secretariat or otherwise) unless the Secretary
of State submits a written certification to the appropriate
congressional committees that--
``(A) no official, employee, consultant,
contractor, subcontractor, representative, affiliate of
UNRWA, an UNRWA partner organization, or an UNRWA
contracting entity pursuant to completion of a thorough
vetting and background check process--
``(i) is a member of, is affiliated with,
or has any ties to a foreign terrorist
organization, including Hamas and Hezbollah;
``(ii) has advocated, planned, sponsored,
or engaged in any terrorist activity;
``(iii) has propagated or disseminated
anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic
rhetoric, incitement, or propaganda,
including--
``(I) calling for or encouraging
the destruction of Israel;
``(II) failing to recognize
Israel's right to exist;
``(III) showing maps without
Israel;
``(IV) describing Israelis as
`occupiers' or `settlers';
``(V) advocating, endorsing, or
expressing support for violence,
hatred, jihad, martyrdom, or terrorism,
glorifying, honoring, or otherwise
memorializing any person or group that
has advocated, sponsored, or committed
acts of terrorism, or providing
material support to terrorists or their
families;
``(VI) expressing support for
boycott of, divestment from, and
sanctions against Israel (commonly
referred to as `BDS');
``(VII) claiming or advocating for
a `right of return' of refugees into
Israel;
``(VIII) ignoring, denying, or not
recognizing the historic connection of
the Jewish people to the land of
Israel; and
``(IX) calling for violence against
Americans; or
``(iv) has used any UNRWA resources,
including publications, websites, or social
media platforms, to propagate or disseminate
anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic
rhetoric, incitement, or propaganda, including
with respect to any of the matters described in
subclauses (I) through (IX) of clause (iii);
``(B) no UNRWA school, hospital, clinic, facility,
or other infrastructure or resource is being used by a
foreign terrorist organization or any member thereof--
``(i) for terrorist activities, such as
operations, planning, training, recruitment,
fundraising, indoctrination, communications,
sanctuary, storage of weapons or other
materials; or
``(ii) as an access point to any
underground tunnel network, or any other
terrorist-related purposes;
``(C) UNRWA is subject to comprehensive financial
audits by an internationally recognized third party
independent auditing firm that--
``(i) is agreed upon by the Government of
Israel and the Palestinian Authority; and
``(ii) has implemented an effective system
of vetting and oversight to prevent the use,
receipt, or diversion of any UNRWA resources by
any foreign terrorist organization or members
thereof;
``(D) no UNRWA controlled or funded facility, such
as a school, an educational institution, or a summer
camp, uses textbooks or other educational materials
that propagate or disseminate anti-American, anti-
Israel, or anti-Semitic rhetoric, incitement, or
propaganda, including with respect to any of the
matters described in subclauses (I) through (IX) of
subparagraph (A)(iii);
``(E) no recipient of UNRWA funds or loans is--
``(i) a member of, is affiliated with, or
has any ties to a foreign terrorist
organization; or
``(ii) otherwise engaged in terrorist
activities; and
``(F) UNRWA holds no accounts or other affiliations
with financial institutions that the United States
considers or believes to be complicit in money
laundering and terror financing.
``(3) Period of effectiveness.--
``(A) In general.--A certification described in
paragraph (2) shall be effective until the earlier of--
``(i) the date on which the Secretary
receives information rendering the
certification described in paragraph (2)
factually inaccurate; or
``(ii) the date that is 180 days after the
date on which it is submitted to the
appropriate congressional committees.
``(B) Notification of renunciation.--If a
certification becomes ineffective pursuant to
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall promptly notify
the appropriate congressional committees of the reasons
for renouncing or failing to renew such certification.
``(4) Limitation.--During any year in which a certification
described in paragraph (1) is in effect, the United States may
not contribute to UNRWA, or to any successor entity, an amount
that--
``(A) is greater than the highest contribution to
UNRWA made by a member country of the League of Arab
States for such year; and
``(B) is greater (as a proportion of the total
UNRWA budget) than the proportion of the total budget
for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
paid by the United States.''.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
(a) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(b) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State
shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees
describing the actions being taken to implement a comprehensive plan
for--
(1) encouraging other countries to adopt the policy
regarding Palestinian refugees that is described in section 2;
(2) urging other countries to withhold their contributions
to UNRWA, to any successor or related entity, or to the regular
budget of the United Nations for the support of UNRWA or a
successor entity (through staff positions provided by the
United Nations Secretariat or otherwise) until UNRWA has met
the conditions listed in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of
section 301(c)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as
added by section 3;
(3) working with other countries to phase out UNRWA and
assist Palestinians receiving UNRWA services by--
(A) integrating such Palestinians into their local
communities in the countries in which they are
residing; or
(B) resettling such Palestinians in countries other
than Israel or territories controlled by Israel in the
West Bank in accordance with international humanitarian
principles; and
(4) ensuring that the actions described in paragraph (3)--
(A) are being implemented in complete coordination
with, and with the support of, Israel; and
(B) do not endanger the security of Israel in any
way.
<all>