Congress: 117 · Status: active · Israel/Palestine classification: pro-Israel
Data (JSON) — machine-readable record of this bill (identifiers, sponsor, classification, actions, and the member-by-member vote breakdown).
Official record on Congress.gov — full text, actions, and cosponsor history for S 2479.
Sponsor: Risch, James E. (R-Idaho)
UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act This bill makes changes to U.S. foreign policy in matters concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). For purposes of this policy, the bill defines Palestinian refugee as a person who (1) resided from June 1946 to May 1948 in Mandatory Palestine (a region controlled by Britain until 1948), (2) was personally displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, and (3) has not accepted citizenship or other permanent adjustment in status in another country. The bill withholds U.S. funding for the UNRWA unless the Department of State makes certifications concerning the UNRWA's staff, partners, and funding. Specifically, the State Department must certify that neither UNRWA staff and partners nor its funding and facilities are affiliated with terrorism or engaged in the dissemination of anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic ideologies. Additionally, the State Department must certify that the UNRWA is subject to comprehensive financial audits by an independent auditing firm and is unaffiliated with any financial institutions that the United States considers to be complicit in money laundering or terror financing. The bill also requires the State Department to implement a plan to encourage other countries to align their activities and efforts regarding the UNRWA with U.S. policy objectives, including the phase out of the UNRWA by resettling Palestinian refugees in countries other than Israel and in territories not controlled by Israel. The State Department must report to Congress on this plan.
This bill blocks U.S. funding to UNRWA (the UN agency serving Palestinian refugees) unless the State Department certifies that UNRWA staff, partners, and facilities have no ties to terrorism or anti-American/anti-Israel/antisemitic content, and that UNRWA undergoes independent financial audits and avoids banks tied to money laundering or terror financing. It also narrows the definition of Palestinian refugee to those who lived in Mandatory Palestine June 1946–May 1948, were personally displaced in 1948, and haven't gained citizenship elsewhere. The State Department must develop a plan to pressure other countries to phase out UNRWA by resettling refugees outside Israel and territories Israel controls, and report back to Congress.
UNRWA is the primary humanitarian provider for Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan; blocking its funding could disrupt refugee services unless certifications are met. The bill's definition of Palestinian refugee excludes descendants of 1948 refugees (who make up the bulk of UNRWA's caseload), and its phase-out goal would shift responsibility from an international body to individual countries—fundamentally reshaping Palestinian refugee status and the aid infrastructure. This is a material attempt to redirect U.S. policy away from UNRWA support.