{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.scott.senate.gov/media-center/press-releases/scott-ricketts-introduce-bill-to-block-foreign-aid-benefitting-hamas/", "Scott, Ricketts Introduce Bill to Block Foreign Aid Benefitting Hamas", "2023-10-31", "2023", "2023-10", "Republican", "Senate", "SC", "Tim Scott", "S001184", "www.scott.senate.gov", "timscott", "https://www.scott.senate.gov/media-center/press-releases/jsf/jet-engine:press-list", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and Pete Ricketts (R-Nev.) introduced the Stop Support for Hamas Act.\n\n\u201cWe must do everything we can to ensure that not a single American tax dollar ends up in the hands of Hamas,\u201d said Senator Tim Scott. \u201cHamas has exploited assistance programs and resources to maintain its hold on Gaza and wage terrorist attacks against innocent civilians, including women and children. Halting U.S. funding for these programs is a critical step as we continue to stand with our ally Israel in its fight against terror.\u201d\n\n\u201cHamas has stolen and abused international aid to Gaza to further its mission to annihilate Israel for years,\u201d said Senator Ricketts. \u201cWe must do everything in our power to support Israel\u2019s efforts to eliminate Hamas. This bill will stop using American taxpayer dollars to fund specific programs that support Hamas\u2019 grip on Gaza.\u201d\n\n\u201cAfter Hamas\u2019s heinous terrorist attack on October 7, in which it slaughtered innocent men, women, and children in the most horrifying ways imaginable, the international community must dispense with the dangerous fiction that Hamas is a credible governing authority. Hamas is a terrorist organization, and its access to international assistance should end immediately. Hamas has diverted global aid for years, using it to build up its deadly terror operations instead of benefitting the people of Gaza,\u201d said FDD Action. \u201cFDD Action is proud to endorse the Stop Support for Hamas Act, which freezes U.S. taxpayer funding to programs in Gaza and the West Bank until Hamas\u2019s terrorist infrastructure is verifiably destroyed. It also cuts off U.S. funding to failed international organizations like UNRWA, which have continued to feed Hamas\u2019s war machine. Never again should Hamas or any other Palestinian terror organization benefit from the generosity of the American people.\u201d\n\nThe Stop Support for Hamas Act:\n\nCuts off contributions for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which has been described as \u201ceffectively a branch of Hamas;\u201d\n\nFreeze Economic Support Funds (ESF) to Gaza and the West Bank until Israel has verifiably dismantled the terrorist infrastructure of Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza;\n\nStrengthen certification requirements under the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 to ensure that no ministry, agency or instrumentality of the Palestinian Authority (PA) employs members, agents or affiliates of Hamas;\n\nEnsures any U.S. assistance to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Gaza and the West Bank does not benefit Hamas or any other terrorist organization; and\n\nStrengthens Taylor Force Act provisions to prevent any U.S. funding that directly or indirectly benefits the PA until it ends its \u201cpay for slay\u201d program.\n\nRead full text for the Stop Support for Hamas Act found here.\n\nBACKGROUND\n\nCut Off Contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)\n\nUNRWA has employed educators who \u201cregularly call to murder Jews\u201d and teach from textbooks \u201cthat glorify terrorism, encourage martyrdom, demonize Israelis and incite antisemitism.\u201d\n\nUNRWA has employed registered Hamas members.\n\nUNRWA schools have been found storing Hamas weapons.\n\nUNRWA facilities have been used as staging grounds for attacks against Israel.\n\nIn 2018, the Trump administration cut off contributions to UNRWA, calling it an \u201cirredeemably flawed operation.\u201d\n\nThe Biden administration reversed the move, funneling more than $730 million to UNRWA since taking office.\n\nOn October 16, 2023, UNRWA initially said that Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip had stolen fuel and medical supplies meant for refugees from its premises in Gaza City, but later retracted the statement, presumably after pressure from Hamas.\n\nThe Stop Support for Hamas Act would cut off contributions to UNRWA.\n\nFreeze Economic Support Funds (ESF) for Gaza and the West Bank Until Israel Has Defeated Hamas & Ensure That Assistance to NGOs Doesn\u2019t Benefit Hamas\n\nESF is the main channel for NGO-implemented economic development, civil society, and basic needs assistance in Gaza and the West Bank.\n\nIt makes no sense to provide ESF assistance to Gaza and the West Bank while Israel is actively fighting a war to defeat Hamas.\n\nAdditional restrictions are also necessary to ensure that aid provided the NGOs does not benefit Hamas or other terrorist organizations.\n\nFor the last two fiscal years, Congress has appropriated over $400 million in ESF for Gaza and the West Bank. The Biden administration\u2019s request for FY24 is $225 million.\n\nThe Stop Support for Hamas Act would freeze ESF assistance until the conclusion of the war on Hamas and ensure any NGO assistance does not benefit Hamas.\n\nStrengthen Certification Requirements Under the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (PATA)\n\nAccording to the Wall Street Journal, a Hamas terrorist who died in an assault on Kibbutz Be\u2019eri carried a paycheck from the Palestinian interior ministry.\n\nThe paycheck indicated a wage of 5,000 shekels a month, or $1,260, a very high salary in Gaza.\n\nPATA prohibits U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority \u2013 who covers a portion of the enclave\u2019s government salaries \u2013 unless the administration certifies that \u201cno ministry, agency, or instrumentality of the Palestinian Authority is effectively controlled by Hamas.\u201d\n\nThe Stop Support for Hamas Act strengthens the certification from \u201ceffectively controlled\u201d to \u201cemploying any members, agents or affiliates of Hamas.\u201d The change will provide the PA with an incentive to rid Hamas members from its agencies and security services and get rid of a national security waiver that circumvents the limitations.\n\nStrengthens Taylor Force Act (TFA)", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:43:12Z"]], "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://www.scott.senate.gov/media-center/press-releases/scott-ricketts-introduce-bill-to-block-foreign-aid-benefitting-hamas/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5228430274873972, "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"}