Following reports that employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) were involved in the planning and execution of Hamas's October 7th attacks on Israel, Congressman Mike Ezell called on his colleagues to pass the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Accountability and Transparency Act (H.R. 1102).
Congressman Ezell was an original cosponsor of H.R. 1102, which was introduced by Congressman Chip Roy (TX-21) on February 17, 2023.
"Unfortunately, it comes as no surprise that employees of an agency with a long history of promoting antisemitism and violence were involved in Hamas's horrific attacks on Israel," said Congressman Ezell. "Taxpayers should not be funding this radical organization. It's past time to pass our UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act."
H.R. 1102 would require serious reforms of the UNRWA before taxpayer dollars could be sent to the organization. Specifically, the Biden administration would need to certify that:
- No UNRWA employee is a member of a terrorist organization like Hamas or Hezbollah, or has advanced terrorist activity, or propagated anti-American, anti-Israel, or antisemitic rhetoric
- No UNRWA infrastructure or resource is being used by terrorist organizations
- UNRWA is subject to a comprehensive financial audit and has implemented a system of vetting and oversight to prevent any diversion of UNRWA resources to terrorist organizations
- No UNRWA school or facility uses textbooks or other educational materials to disseminate anti-American, anti-Israel, or antisemitic rhetoric
- No recipient of UNRWA funds is a member or affiliate of a foreign terrorist organization
- UNRWA holds no affiliations with financial institutions that the United States deems or believes to be complicit in financing terrorism
