,i #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fdea ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #ai1 #bjah,mr4 ,lamborn 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,weber of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,des,jarlais1 ,mr4 ,perry1 ,mr4 ,mc,kinley1 and ,ms4 ,tenney7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to establish the policy of the ,united ,states with respect to contributions to the ,united ,nations ,relief and ,works ,agency for ,palestine ,refugees in the ,near ,east1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,unrwa ,reform and ,refugee ,support ,act of #bjah4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,united ,nations ,relief and ,works ,agency for ,palestine ,refugees in the ,near ,east 7,,unrwa7 was founded in #aidi through ,united ,nations ,general ,assembly ,resolution #cjb at the conclusion of the ,arab-,israeli ,conflict of #aidh to alleviate the conditions of starvation and distress among the ,palestine refugees from that conflict4 7#b7 ,according to ,,unrwa's ,consolidated ,eligibility and ,registration ,instructions 7,,ceri71 ,palestinian refugees are persons whose normal place of residence was ,palestine during the period #a ,june #aidf to #ae ,may #aidh1 and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the #aidh conflict4 7#c7 ,beginning in the #aiejs1 ,,unrwa changed the eligibility requirements to be a ,palestinian refugee from those displaced in #aidh that is inconsistent with the original definition of the agency4 ,this change significantly inflated the number of purported refugees and subsequently the number of individuals who are eligible to receive ,,unrwa benefits4 ,,unrwa classifies individuals eligible for benefits as ,palestinian refugees including1 but not limited to1 those descendants of ,palestine refugee males1 including legally adopted children1 several generations removed from the conflict1 who were born decades after the conflict ended4 7#d7 ,this classification process is inconsistent with how all other refugees in the world are classified1 including the definition used by the ,united ,nations ,high ,commission on ,refugees 7,,unhcr7 and the laws concerning refugees in the ,united ,states4 ,because of ,,unrwa's unique definition of a refugee1 the number of ,palestinian refugees has grown exponentially over the years1 from approximately #fjj1jjj in #aidi to #e1cjj1jjj today4 ,in contrast the number of refugees from other conflicts has diminished dramatically through ,,unhcr4 7#e7 ,instead of resettling ,palestinian refugees displaced as a result of the ,arab-,israeli ,conflict of #aidh1 ,,unrwa provides aid to those they define as ,palestinian refugees until there is a solution they deem acceptable to the ,israeli-,palestinian conflict4 ,this policy does not help resettle the refugees from #aidh but instead maintains a refugee population in perpetuity4 7#f7 ,the ,united ,states has been ,,unrwa's biggest donor since its inception1 and contributes a disproportionate amount on ,palestinian refugees in comparison to other refugees around the world4 ,the ,united ,nations ,high ,commissioner for ,refugees has addressed the world's estimated #fe1jjj1jjj displaced persons with a staff of just over #aj1jjj and a #bjag budget of #g1gjj1jjj1jjj4 ,,unrwa1 which claims it works on behalf of over #e1cjj1jjj ,palestinian refugees1 has a staff of over #cj1jjj1 with a #bjaf budget of #a1dej1jjj1jjj4 7#g7 ,,unrwa has #a relief worker per roughly #agj refugees1 #dj times the allocation of relief workers to non-,palestinian refugees by the ,united ,nations ,high ,commissioner for ,refugees4 7#h7 ,,unrwa facilities have been used to launch terror attacks against ,israel1 and ,,unrwa employees have frequently faced credible charges of working with terrorist groups such as ,hamas1 including the following3 7,a7 ,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 returned them to the relevant authorities in ,gaza1 territory controlled by ,hamas4 7,b7 ,,unrwa reported finding missiles in their schools again on ,july #bb1 #bjad1 and ,july #bi1 #bjad4 7,c7 ,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 #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the ,united ,states should-- 7,a7 support ,,unrwa solely to the extent necessary to accomplish its original and intended purpose to resettle refugees from the ,arab-,israeli ,conflict of #aidh2 7,b7 make contributions to ,,unrwa in proportion to the number of refugees it assists that meet the ,united ,states definition of a refugee2 and 7,c7 continue to assist other needy populations around the world through international aid and development assistance1 including ,palestinians in the ,west ,bank1 ,gaza1 ,jordan1 ,lebanon1 and ,syria2 7#b7 the ,secretary of ,state should determine and accordingly provide to ,,unrwa a voluntary contribution in an amount that bears the same proportion to the total requested ,united ,states contribution as the proportion that refugees of the ,arab-,israeli ,conflict of #aidh who meet the requirements described in section #d7;a7 bear to the full population supported by ,,unrwa programs2 7#c7 amounts made available to the ,secretary of ,state that are withheld from ,,unrwa in accordance with the determination described in paragraph 7#b7 should instead be made available to the ,administrator of the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development for providing assistance to other populations in need in the ,west ,bank1 ,gaza1 ,jordan1 ,lebanon1 and ,syria2 and 7#d7 in accordance with the prohibition under section #cja7;c7 of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bbba7;c771 ,united ,states assistance should not be made available to any refugee who is receiving military training as a member of the ,palestine ,liberation ,army or who is a part of any organization engaging in acts of terrorism4 #d4 ,statements of policy with respect to criteria for recognition of refugee status 7a7 ,criteria for recognition of ,,unrwa refugee status ,it shall be the policy of the ,united ,states1 with respect to recognizing the refugee status of persons receiving assistance through ,,unrwa1 that a ,palestinian refugee is a person1 or the spouse or minor child of a person-- 7#a7 whose resided1 between ,june #aidf and ,may #aidh1 in the region controlled by ,britain between #aibb and #aidh known as ,mandatory ,palestine2 7#b7 who was personally displaced as a result of the ,arab-,israeli ,conflict of #aidh2 and 7#c7 who has not accepted an offer of legal residency status1 citizenship1 or other permanent adjustment in status in another country4 7b7 ,consistency with ,united ,states eligibility for refugee status ,in applying the criteria described in subsection 7a7 with respect to refugees under ,,unrwa1 it shall be the policy of the ,united ,states1 consistent with the definition of a refugee in section #aja7;a7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a77 and the requirements for eligibility for refugee status under such ,act1 that-- 7#a7 derivative refugee status may only be extended to the spouse or minor child of such a refugee2 and 7#b7 an alien who was firmly resettled in any country is not eligible to retain refugee status4