{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://carson.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-carson-jayapal-schakowsky-introduce-unrwa-funding-bill", "Reps. Carson, Jayapal, Schakowsky Introduce UNRWA Funding Bill", "2024-09-19", "2024", "2024-09", "Democrat", "House", "IN", "Andr\u00e9 Carson", "C001072", "carson.house.gov", "carson", "https://carson.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC\u2014Representative Andr\u00e9 Carson (IN-07) has introduced H.R. 9649, the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act of 2024 with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09). This bill will end the congressionally and administratively mandated pause on funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA).\n\nThe United States has historically been one of the largest financial supporters of UNRWA, which serves nearly 6 million Palestinian refugees across the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. In March of this year, the U.S. paused UNRWA funding after the Israeli government alleged that 12 agency employees had direct involvement in Hamas\u2019 October 7 terrorist attack.\n\nFollowing the UN\u2019s investigation and proactive commitments made by UNRWA toward complete accountability and reform, all countries except the U.S. have resumed their UNRWA funding, including the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Finland, Germany, Japan, and Sweden. Approximately 1.9 million people \u2013 9 in 10 Gazans \u2013 have been displaced at least once, and an estimated 43,580 are pregnant women. UNRWA has served as the primary humanitarian aid organization operating in Gaza, and without funding, hundreds of thousands of Gaza civilians are left vulnerable. It is estimated that over 1 million Gazans will not have enough food this month, and availability of basic hygiene items has dropped to 15%. In addition to a polio outbreak, Gazans are suffering from malnutrition and treatable diseases due to \u201csystematic dismantling of healthcare\u201dfrom bombardments on civilians.\n\n\u201cThe scale of this devastating, man-made crisis in Gaza cannot be overstated,\u201d said Congressman Carson. \u201cProviding humanitarian aid to a starving nation \u2013 with funding Congress has appropriated year after year \u2013 should not be controversial. I urge my colleagues who care about basic human rights, the rights of pregnant women, and the wellbeing of innocent children to join our bill. UNRWA has taken appropriate and proactive steps towards accountability and transparency, conducting multiple independent reviews that continue to prove the organization is both in compliance and imperative to provide the region with lifesaving assistance. It\u2019s past time we restore funding and save lives.\u201d\n\n\u201cUNRWA has played a unique and integral role in supporting the welfare of Palestinian refugees for decades. Their on-the-ground understanding is invaluable to ensure that humanitarian aid makes it to the people who need it most \u2014 in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and critically in this moment in Gaza,\u201d said Congresswoman Jayapal. \u201cThere is no question in my mind that revoking funding for UNRWA will lead to more devastation and loss of life in Gaza. We must ensure that those acting in good faith to save civilian lives are not undermined by a lack of US funding.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor decades, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has been a lifeline for Palestinians, providing food, clean water, healthcare, shelter, education, and livelihoods. Today, UNRWA remains the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza as it endures ongoing war and a dire humanitarian crisis. UNRWA and the United Nations have taken swift and decisive actions to address the concerns raised by the U.S. government when it paused funding in January and our allies have all resumed funding for UNRWA. The U.S. must follow suit and resume funding for this critical humanitarian agency,\" said Congresswoman Schakowsky. \"I am proud to co-lead the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act to restore funding to UNRWA and help Gazans get the humanitarian assistance they need at a time of unprecedented crisis.\"\n\n\u201cJ Street is proud to be supporting the UNRWA Emergency Restoration Act of 2024 introduced by Representatives Carson, Jayapal, and Schakowsky. We should restore funding, as all our major allies have, and stop playing politics with Palestinian welfare and Israel\u2019s security,\u201d said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. \u201cAs UNRWA\u2019s largest donor and Israel\u2019s key security guarantor, the United States has a special obligation to address this crisis.\u201d\n\n\"Gaza isn't starving. It's being starved,\" said Hassan El-Tayyab, legislative director for Middle East policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. \"Over two million Palestinian civilians are enduring a man-made humanitarian catastrophe, with famine and disease spreading due to blocked aid access. Meanwhile, the Biden administration and Congress continue to withhold all U.S. funding for the largest aid operation in Gaza\u2014the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). UNRWA is the backbone of aid delivery in Gaza, ensuring that millions receive desperately needed assistance. Blocking U.S. funding for UNRWA\u2019s critical work is a cruel and unjustified decision that only deepens Gaza\u2019s humanitarian suffering. Congress and the Administration must act swiftly to correct this wrong by supporting the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act and restoring this urgently needed aid.\"\n\n\"Restoring funding to UNRWA is a humanitarian imperative,\" said Sharif Aly, President of the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). \u201cFor 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 in Gaza right now, and UNRWA is the only organization with the capacity and expertise necessary to provide them at scale. The United States must uphold its commitment to the human rights of the Palestinian people and pass this legislation to reinstate funding to the humanitarian agency immediately. Failing to do so would lead to further human suffering.\u201d\n\n\"In restoring funding for food, water, shelter, and medical care for Palestine refugees, the UNRWA Restoration Act honors this most basic and inalienable truth \u2014 that the people of Palestine are human beings, just like all of us, and all lives are sacred, not just some,\" said Mara Kronenfeld, Executive Director UNRWA USA.\n\n\"UNRWA is indispensable to providing Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria with the education, healthcare, and other critical services that are key to successful, productive livelihoods and citizenry, and a future of peace and prosperity, which should be in everyone's interests. We support full restoration of funding to UNRWA,\u201d said Sean Carroll, President and CEO of Anera.\n\n\u201cWe express our gratitude to Representatives Andr\u00e9 Carson, Pramila Jayapal, and Jan Schakowsky for introducing the UNRWA Emergency Restoration Act of 2024,\u201d said James Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute. \u201cThis lifesaving legislation aims to restore critical U.S. financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) by repealing previous funding restrictions and encouraging the Secretary of State to lift the temporary pause on federal funding. UNRWA plays a vital role in providing essential services to millions of Palestinian refugees across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The ongoing genocide in Gaza has resulted in increased displacement, starvation, and death. It is both inhumane and unconscionable to continue withholding financial support from UNRWA. We recognize that the majority of Americans are horrified by the death and destruction they witness daily in Gaza and the West Bank. UNRWA's humanitarian aid and services often mean the difference between life and death for these vulnerable populations. Restoring U.S. funding to UNRWA is urgent, just, and the only morally responsible option. We urge lawmakers to prioritize the passage of this crucial legislation and ensure that UNRWA can continue to provide life-saving assistance to Palestinian refugees in the region.\u201d\n\nThe UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act of 2024 has been endorsed by the following organizations as of 9/19/24:", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://carson.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-carson-jayapal-schakowsky-introduce-unrwa-funding-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8153230883181095, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}