F:\M11\ROSLEH\ROSLEH_160.XML ..................................................................... (Original Signature of Member) 111TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. ll To ensure accountability for United States taxpayers' humanitarian assistance for Palestinian refugees. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on llllllllllllll A BILL To ensure accountability for United States taxpayers' humanitarian assistance for Palestinian refugees. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``UNRWA Humani- 5 tarian Accountability Act.'' 6 7 SEC. 2. UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNRWA. Section 301 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 8 is amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 9 following new subsection: f:\VHLC\042010\042010.102.xml April 20, 2010 (12:32 p.m.) VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:32 Apr 20, 2010 Jkt 000000 (465508|7) PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\TEMP\ROSLEH_160.XML HOLCPC F:\M11\ROSLEH\ROSLEH_160.XML 2 1 ``(c)(1) WITHHOLDING.--Contributions by the 2 United States to the United Nations Relief and Works 3 Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East 4 (UNRWA), to any successor or related entity, or to the 5 regular budget of the United Nations for the support of 6 UNRWA or a successor entity (through staff positions 7 provided by the United Nations Secretariat, or otherwise), 8 may be provided only during a period for which a certifi9 cation described in paragraph (2) is in effect. 10 ``(2) CERTIFICATION.--A certification described in 11 this paragraph is a written determination by the Secretary 12 of State, based on all information available after diligent 13 inquiry, and transmitted to the appropriate congressional 14 committees along with a detailed description of the factual 15 basis therefor, that-- 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ``(A) no official, employee, consultant, contractor, subcontractor, representative, or affiliate of UNRWA-- ``(i) is a member of a Foreign Terrorist Organization; ``(ii) has propagated, disseminated, or incited anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic rhetoric or propaganda; or ``(iii) has used any UNRWA resources, including publications or Web sites, to propagate f:\VHLC\042010\042010.102.xml April 20, 2010 (12:32 p.m.) VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:32 Apr 20, 2010 Jkt 000000 (465508|7) PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\TEMP\ROSLEH_160.XML HOLCPC F:\M11\ROSLEH\ROSLEH_160.XML 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 or disseminate political materials, including political rhetoric regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; ``(B) no UNRWA school, hospital, clinic, other facility, or other infrastructure or resource is being used by a Foreign Terrorist Organization for operations, planning, training, recruitment, fundraising, indoctrination, communications, sanctuary, storage of weapons or other materials, or any other purposes; ``(C) 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 use, receipt, or diversion of any UNRWA resources by any foreign terrorist organization or members thereof; ``(D) no UNRWA-funded school or educational institution uses textbooks or other educational materials that propagate or disseminate anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic rhetoric, propaganda or incitement; ``(E) no recipient of UNRWA funds or loans is a member of a Foreign Terrorist Organization; and f:\VHLC\042010\042010.102.xml April 20, 2010 (12:32 p.m.) VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:32 Apr 20, 2010 Jkt 000000 (465508|7) PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\TEMP\ROSLEH_160.XML HOLCPC F:\M11\ROSLEH\ROSLEH_160.XML 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ``(F) 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 financing. ``(3) DEFINITION.--In this section: ``(A) 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 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)). ``(B) APPROPRIATE TEES.--The CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- term `appropriate congressional com- mittees' means-- ``(i) the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Appropriations, and Oversight and Government Reform of the House; and ``(ii) the Committees on Foreign Relations, Appropriations, and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. ``(4) EFFECTIVE DURATION OF CERTIFICATION.-- 22 The certification described in paragraph (2) shall be effec23 tive for a period of 180 days from the date of transmission 24 to the appropriate congressional committees, or until the 25 Secretary receives information rendering that certification f:\VHLC\042010\042010.102.xml April 20, 2010 (12:32 p.m.) VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:32 Apr 20, 2010 Jkt 000000 (465508|7) PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\TEMP\ROSLEH_160.XML HOLCPC F:\M11\ROSLEH\ROSLEH_160.XML 5 1 factually inaccurate, whichever is earliest. In the event 2 that a certification becomes ineffective, the Secretary shall 3 promptly transmit to the appropriate congressional com4 mittees a description of any information that precludes the 5 renewal or continuation of the certification. 6 ``(5) LIMITATION.--During a period for which a cer- 7 tification described in paragraph (2) is in effect, the 8 United States may not contribute to the United Nations 9 Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the 10 Near East (UNRWA) or a successor entity an annual 11 amount-- 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ``(A) greater than the highest annual contribution to UNRWA made by a member country of the League of Arab States; ``(B) that, as a proportion of the total UNRWA budget, exceeds the proportion of the total budget for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) paid by the United States; or ``(C) that exceeds 22 percent of the total budget of UNRWA.''. SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. It is the sense of Congress that-- (1) the President and the Secretary of State should lead a high-level diplomatic effort to encourage other responsible nations to withhold contribu- f:\VHLC\042010\042010.102.xml April 20, 2010 (12:32 p.m.) VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:32 Apr 20, 2010 Jkt 000000 (465508|7) PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\TEMP\ROSLEH_160.XML HOLCPC F:\M11\ROSLEH\ROSLEH_160.XML 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 tions to UNRWA, to any successor or related entity, or to the regular budget of the United Nations for the support of UNRWA or a successor entity (through staff positions provided by the United Nations Secretariat, or otherwise) until UNRWA has met the conditions listed in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of section 301(c)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 2 of this Act); (2) citizens of recognized states should be removed from UNRWA's jurisdiction; (3) 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 Refugees; and (4) in order to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian refugees, responsibility for those refugees should be fully transferred to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. f:\VHLC\042010\042010.102.xml April 20, 2010 (12:32 p.m.) VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:32 Apr 20, 2010 Jkt 000000 (465508|7) PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\TEMP\ROSLEH_160.XML HOLCPC