UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act
This bill redefines who qualifies as a "Palestinian refugee" under U.S. policy, requiring individuals to have been displaced during the 1948 conflict and not accepted citizenship elsewhere. It mandates that U.S. funding for the UNRWA agency (which provides aid to Palestinian refugees) can only continue if the State Department certifies UNRWA is free from terrorist ties, anti-Israel rhetoric in its materials, and misuse of facilities for terrorism. The certification must confirm UNRWA uses vetted staff, avoids anti-Semitic or anti-Israel propaganda in education, and undergoes independent financial audits approved by Israel and the Palestinian Authority. U.S. contributions are also capped at levels matching the highest Arab League member country’s annual support and proportional to U.S. funding for other refugee programs. The bill requires annual reports to Congress on efforts to encourage other nations to withhold UNRWA funding until these conditions are met.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2023
Committee Review
Floor Vote
President
Introduced Feb 15, 2023
Last action Feb 15, 2023
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
2
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Feb 15, 2023
Committee
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
upper
Feb 15, 2023
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
1 primary · 24 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
James E. Risch
RRepublican
Co
Bill Cassidy
RRepublican
Co
Bill Hagerty
RRepublican
Co
Cindy Hyde-Smith
RRepublican
Co
Deb Fischer
RRepublican
Co
J.D. Vance
RRepublican
Co
John Barrasso
RRepublican
Co
John Cornyn
RRepublican
Co
John Hoeven
RRepublican
Co
John Thune
RRepublican
Co
Joni Ernst
RRepublican
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