Van Hollen Joins Welch, Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Restore Funding for UNRWA
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who led the Senators in introducing legislation that would restore congressional funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Senator Welch's legislation would help address the mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank by repealing funding prohibitions on UNRWA included in Congressional appropriations bills, and directs the U.S. Department of State to rescind the temporary pause in funding for UNRWA. The legislation expresses congressional support for appropriating critical funds to UNRWA for Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations packages.
UNRWA is critical to the humanitarian response in Gaza and is the only organization currently capable of providing essential services in both Gaza and the West Bank. Restrictions on funding from the United States, in addition to Israel’s Parliament which recently passed legislation to terminate the agency’s operations in East Jerusalem and prevent deconfliction necessary to operate in Gaza, endanger UNRWA’s ability to safely deliver humanitarian aid to those in need.
“UNRWA is not only the primary means of distributing desperately-needed food and medical aid in Gaza, it also provides essential education and health care services for millions of Palestinians in the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Innocent civilians in Gaza and beyond who count on UNRWA should not be punished for the unacceptable actions of a handful of employees – who were rightfully terminated and should be held fully accountable. Suspending the agency’s funding has hamstrung its efforts at a time when the humanitarian support it provides is more important than ever. We must restore U.S. funding to UNRWA to ensure it has the resources it needs to carry out its critical humanitarian work,”?said Senator Van Hollen.
“Since day one of this conflict, UNRWA has proven to be the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza. It is unacceptable that this entire organization—and the civilian population of Gaza and the West Bank—should pay such a devastating price for the acts of a few individuals. As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza intensifies, support for humanitarian aid is more important than ever,” said Senator Welch. “Congress must pass this legislation to ensure UNRWA can safely deliver humanitarian assistance to starving women, children, and families desperate for food, medicine, and shelter.”
“UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza and does critical work across the region. With hundreds of thousands of starving people in Gaza – including tens of thousands of children – the United States must stand with the UN aid workers trying to provide food, water, and medical care to millions of innocent people,” said Senator Sanders.
“UNRWA plays a crucial role in providing essential social services and life-saving humanitarian assistance like food and medication in Gaza, the West Bank, and throughout the Region,” said Senator Hirono. “Following the identification and ongoing implementation of critical UNRWA reforms, this legislation would reauthorize hundreds of millions of dollars in State Department funding to ensure UNRWA can continue providing desperately needed assistance to millions of Palestinian civilians currently suffering in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. There is simply no alternative to UNRWA when it comes to delivering food and other life-saving aid in Gaza.”
In reaction to allegations of fewer than 20 of UNRWA’s approximately 13,000 employees participating in the October 7th, 2023, attacks on Israel, Congress included language in the FY24 Appropriations Act which prohibits U.S. funding to UNRWA until March 25, 2025. After UNRWA was informed of the Israeli government’s allegations, UNRWA fired the employees in question.?Since then, UNRWA has undergone an independent review and developed a high-level action plan to implement reform recommendations. Following the completion of these steps and by the conclusion of the United Nations review, every country that had paused UNRWA contributions has since resumed funding the Agency, with the lone exception of the United States.
The UNWRA Funding Emergency Restoration Act is endorsed by 75 organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Demand Progress, TIMEP, Human Rights First, Norwegian Refugee Council, Human Rights First, The Borgen Project, KinderUSA, American Friends Service Committee, Church World Service, Peace Action, Middle East Democracy Center, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), Center for International Policy, and Win Without War.
“For over a year now, the catastrophic suffering due to Israel’s blocking of humanitarian access and other conduct in the occupied Gaza Strip has been abundantly clear—and getting worse. UNRWA has played an indispensable role in offering, food, water, medical aid, education and shelter to nearly 2 million Palestinians in Gaza. This legislation comes as a critical moment when the Israeli government has moved to ban UNRWA, effectively criminalizing humanitarian aid. Congress must act swiftly to pass this legislation to urgently restore U.S. funding to ensure that Palestinian refugees in the region receive the lifesaving humanitarian aid and critical services they need,” said Elizabeth Rghebi, Advocacy Director, Middle East and North Africa, Amnesty International USA.
“If we want peace and prosperity in the Middle East, and peaceful coexistence of Palestinians and Israelis, funding UNRWA is critical. Without the basic human services provided by UNRWA to millions of Palestinians, those dreams will be further from, not closer to, present reality,” said Sean Carroll, President and CEO, Anera.
“Defunding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) would represent a catastrophic failure of our moral and humanitarian obligations. UNRWA is an irreplaceable lifeline for over six million Palestinian refugees, providing essential medical care, food, shelter, and hope in the face of unimaginable hardship. We must protect U.S. funding, especially during an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. We must reaffirm our role as a global humanitarian leader and act decisively to protect innocent lives. We welcome this Senate companion bill and thank Senator Peter Welch for supporting UNRWA and to pursue restoring full support for this critical agency,” said Wa'el Alzayat, CEO, Emgage Action.
“Ultimately, the definitive path to address this crisis is an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and unrestricted humanitarian access," said Hassan El-Tayyab, Legislative Director, Middle East Policy, Friends Committee on National Legislation. “But these are just the first steps in what will be a challenging and prolonged rebuilding journey. Protecting the essential role of UNRWA, especially in providing primary healthcare and education, is vital for Gaza’s future. Congress has the power to make this happen. Lawmakers must cosponsor the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act and take a stand for humanity, justice and peace.”
“This effort to restore U.S. support for aid in Gaza couldn’t be more urgent. If the United States says it cares about the starving people of Gaza, it must restore funding to the agency that feeds the people of Gaza. There is simply no substitute for UNRWA,” said Sarah Yager, Washington Director, Human Rights Watch.
“The need to restore funding to UNRWA grows more urgent by the day,” said Sharif Aly, President, International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). “For over six decades, the United States has been one of the strongest supporters of UNRWA, which provides lifesaving aid and social services to millions of Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. Those services are desperately needed at this critical juncture—especially for those displaced in Gaza and Lebanon—and only UNRWA can provide them. The Senate must uphold America’s commitment to the human rights of the Palestinian people and pass this legislation to reinstate funding to the humanitarian agency immediately. Countless lives depend on it.”
“The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and now Lebanon, is human-made—and it can be stopped if concerned humans and governments intervene. The Israeli government’s October vote to ban UNRWA as soon as January severs the primary humanitarian artery keeping people alive in Gaza and will deny precious generations of young people the education and medical care they need to survive into adulthood. For decades, the United States government was UNRWA's largest and most reliable funder. Abandoning this legacy now not only defies the will of the American people but also jeopardizes an irreplaceable UN-mandated agency and nearly 6 million lives,” said Mara Kronenfeld, Executive Director, UNRWA USA National Committee. “We are grateful to Senator Welch for leading the Senate effort to restore UNRWA funding, and we stand with our tens of thousands of advocates and donors in urging Congress to act.”
Learn more about the UNWRA Funding Emergency Restoration Act.
Read the full text of the bill.