,i #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #efdg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #ah1 #bjad ,ms4 ,ros-,lehtinen 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,perry1 ,mr4 ,yoho1 and ,mr4 ,de,santis7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to promote transparency1 accountability1 and reform within the ,united ,nations ,relief and ,works ,agency for ,palestine ,refugees in the ,near ,east1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title2 table of contents 7a7 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,unrwa ,anti-,terrorism ,act4 7b7 ,table of contents ,the table of contents is as follows3 ,sec4 #a4 ,short title2 table of contents4 ,sec4 #b4 ,findings4 ,sec4 #c4 ,united ,states contributions to ,,unrwa4 ,sec4 #d4 ,sense of ,congress4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the total annual budget of the ,united ,nations ,relief and ,works ,agency for ,palestine ,refugees in the ,near ,east 7,,unrwa71 including its core programs1 emergency activities1 and special projects1 exceeds #a1djj1jjj1jjj4 7#b7 ,the ,united ,states has long been the largest single contributing country to ,,unrwa4 7#c7 ,from #aiej to #bjad1 the ,united ,states has contributed almost #e1jjj1jjj1jjj to ,,unrwa1 including an average of over #bfj1jjj1jjj per year between fiscal years #bjji and #bjad4 7#d7 ,,unrwa staff unions1 including the teachers' union1 are frequently controlled by members affiliated with ,hamas4 7#e7 ,the curriculum of ,,unrwa schools1 which has been known to use the textbooks of their respective host governments or authorities1 has a history of containing materials that are anti-,israel1 anti-,semitic1 and supporting violent extremism4 7#f7 ,despite ,,unrwa's contravention of ,united ,states law and activities that compromise its strictly humanitarian mandate1 ,,unrwa continues to receive ,united ,states contributions1 including #bid1jjj1jjj in fiscal year #bjac and over #bej1jjj1jjj in just the first #f months of #bjad4 7#g7 ,assistance from the ,united ,states and other responsible nations allows ,,unrwa to claim that criticisms of the agency's behavior are unfounded4 ,,unrwa spokesman ,christopher ,gunness has dismissed concerns by stating that1 ,if these baseless allegations were even halfway true1 do you really think the ,u4,s4 and ,european ,commission would give us hundreds of millions of dollars per year84 7#h7 ,former ,,unrwa general counsel ,james ,lindsay noted in a #bjji report the following3 7,a7 ,the ,united ,states1 despite funding nearly #ge percent of ,,unrwa's national budget and remaining its largest single country donor1 has mostly failed to make ,,unrwa reflect ,u4,s4 foreign policy objectives 4 4 4 ,recent ,u4,s4 efforts to shape ,,unrwa appear to have been ineffective 4 4 44 7,b7 ,the ,united ,states is not obligated to fund agencies that refuse to check its rolls for individuals their donors do not wish to support44 7,c7 ,a number of changes in ,,unrwa could benefit the refugees1 the ,middle ,east1 and the ,united ,states1 but those changes will not occur unless the ,united ,states1 ideally with support from ,,unrwa's other main financial supporter1 the ,european ,union1 compels the agency to enact reforms44 7,d7 ,if the ,,unrwa commissioner-general's power is used in ways that are conflict with the donors' political objectives1 it is up to the donors to take the necessary actions to ensure that their interests are respected4 ,when they have done so1 ,,unrwa--given the tight financial leash it has been on for most of its existence--has tended to follow their dictates1 even if sometimes slowly44 7#i7 ,during ,israel's ,operation ,protective ,edge in #bjad in response to ,hamas rocket attacks against ,israel1 ,,unrwa's ,commissioner ,general gave a press briefing ignoring the extraordinary efforts ,israel goes to avoid civilian casualties1 and not once in the nearly #a1ajj word statement mentioning ,hamas or condemning ,hamas' use of ,palestinian children1 women1 and men as human shields in violation of international humanitarian law4 7#aj7 ,on ,july #af1 #bjad1 ,,unrwa reported that it had found #bj missiles in one of its schools in ,gaza1 likely placed there by ,hamas1 and then instead of dismantling the missiles1 ,,unrwa returned them to the relevant authorities in ,gaza1 and since ,hamas controls ,gaza1 it likely turned them back over to ,hamas4 7#aa7 ,on ,july #bb1 #bjad1 ,,unrwa reported that it had found a second instance in which missiles were stockpiled in one of its schools in ,gaza1 and again failed to condemn ,hamas publicly4 7#ab7 ,on ,july #bi1 #bjad1 ,,unrwa confirmed that1 for the third time in less than a month1 a stockpile of ,hamas rockets was found in one of its schools in ,gaza1 establishing a pattern of ,hamas weapons being stored in ,,unrwa facilities1 and calling into question ,,unrwa's claim of being caught unawares to ,hamas' actions4 7#ac7 ,on ,july #cj1 #bjad1 three ,israeli ,defense ,force soldiers were killed in an explosion at a booby-trapped ,,unrwa health clinic1 which was housing the opening to one of ,hamas' underground tunnels4 7#ad7 ,on ,july #cj1 #bjad1 ,john ,ging1 head of ,,unrwa from #bjjf-bjaa1 when asked if ,hamas has been using human shields and using ,united ,nations schools and hospitals to store weapons and as a shelter from which to launch missiles into ,israel1 stated in an interview1 ,yes1 the armed groups are firing their rockets into ,israel from the vicinity of ,,un facilities and residential areas4 ,absolutely44 7#ae7 ,during ,operation ,protective ,edge in ,gaza1 ,,unrwa repeatedly distorted the facts and accused ,israel of targeting ,palestinian women and children based off of the casualty numbers provided to it by ,gaza's ,hamas-run ,health ,ministry1 which has been shown to have deliberately lied about the casualty numbers4 #c4 ,united ,states contributions to ,,unrwa ,section #cja of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bbba7 is amended by striking subsection 7c7 and inserting the following new subsection3 7c7 7#a7 ,withholding ,contributions by the ,united ,states to the ,united ,nations ,relief and ,works ,agency for ,palestine ,refugees in the ,near ,east 7,,unrwa71 to any successor or related entity1 or to the regular budget of the ,united ,nations for the support of ,,unrwa or a successor entity 7through staff positions provided by the ,united ,nations ,secretariat or otherwise71 may be provided only during a period for which a certification described in paragraph 7#b7 is in effect4 7#b7 ,certification ,a certification described in this paragraph is a written determination by the ,secretary of ,state1 based on all information available after diligent inquiry1 and transmitted to the appropriate congressional committees along with a detailed description of the factual basis therefore1 that-- 7,a7 no official1 employee1 consultant1 contractor1 subcontractor1 representative1 or affiliate of ,,unrwa-- 7i7 is a member of a foreign terrorist organization2 7ii7 has propagated1 disseminated1 or incited anti-,american1 anti-,israel1 or anti-,semitic rhetoric or propaganda2 or 7iii7 has used any ,,unrwa resources1 including publications or ,web sites1 to propagate or disseminate political materials1 including political rhetoric regarding the ,israeli-,palestinian conflict2 7,b7 no ,,unrwa school1 hospital1 clinic1 other facility1 or other infrastructure or resource is being used by a foreign terrorist organization for operations1 planning1 training1 recruitment1 fundraising1 indoctrination1 communications1 sanctuary1 storage of weapons or other materials1 or as an access point to any underground tunnel network1 or any other purposes2 7,c7 ,,unrwa is subject to comprehensive financial audits by an internationally recognized third party independent auditing firm and has implemented an effective system of vetting and oversight to prevent the use1 receipt1 or diversion of any ,,unrwa resources by any foreign terrorist organization or members thereof2 7,d7 no ,,unrwa-funded school or educational institution uses textbooks or other educational materials that propagate or disseminate anti-,american1 anti-,israel1 or anti-,semitic rhetoric1 propaganda or incitement2 7,e7 no recipient of ,,unrwa funds or loans is a member of a foreign terrorist organization2 and 7,f7 ,,unrwa holds no accounts or other affiliations with financial institutions that the ,united ,states deems or believes to be complicit in money laundering and terror financing4 7#c7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7,a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7i7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 the ,committee on ,appropriations1 and the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7ii7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations1 the ,committee on ,appropriations1 and the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate4 7,b7 ,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 #bai7;a7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahi7;a774 7#d7 ,effective duration of certification ,the certification described in paragraph 7#b7 shall be effective for a period of #ahj days from the date of transmission to the appropriate congressional committees1 or until the ,secretary receives information rendering that certification factually inaccurate1 whichever is earliest4 ,in the event that a certification becomes ineffective1 the ,secretary shall promptly transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a description of any information that precludes the renewal or continuation of the certification4 7#e7 ,limitation ,during a period for which a certification described in paragraph 7#b7 is in effect1 the ,united ,states may not contribute to ,,unrwa or a successor entity an amount on an annual basis that-- 7,a7 is greater than the highest annual contribution to ,,unrwa made by a member country of the ,league of ,arab ,states for the same year2 7,b7 as a proportion of the total ,,unrwa budget1 exceeds the proportion of the total budget for the ,united ,nations ,high ,commissioner for ,refugees 7,,unhcr7 paid by the ,united ,states2 or 7,c7 exceeds #bb percent of the total budget of ,,unrwa 4 #d4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the ,president and the ,secretary of ,state should lead a high-level diplomatic effort to encourage other responsible nations to withhold contributions to the ,united ,nations ,relief and ,works ,agency for ,palestine ,refugees in the ,near ,east 7,,unrwa71 to any successor or related entity1 or to the regular budget of the ,united ,nations for the support of ,,unrwa or a successor entity 7through staff positions provided by the ,united ,nations ,secretariat or otherwise7 until ,,unrwa has met the conditions listed in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,f7 of section #cja7;c77#b7 of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7as added by section #b of this ,act72 7#b7 citizens of recognized states should be removed from ,,unrwa's jurisdiction2 7#c7 ,,unrwa's definition of a ,palestine refugee should be changed to that used for a refugee by the ,office of the ,united ,nations ,high ,commissioner for ,refugees2 and 7#d7 in order to alleviate the suffering of ,palestinian refugees1 responsibility for those refugees should be fully transferred to the ,office of the ,united ,nations ,high ,commissioner for ,refugees4