UNRWA Anti-Terrorism Act
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
UNRWA Anti-Terrorism Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to withhold U.S. contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) or to any successor or related entity, or to the regular budget of the United Nations (U.N.) for the support of UNRWA or a successor entity, unless the Secretary of State certifies to Congress that: no UNRWA official, employee, representative, or affiliate is a member of a foreign terrorist organization, has propagated anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic rhetoric, or has used UNRWA resources to propagate political materials regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;
no UNRWA facility is used by a foreign terrorist organization;
no UNRWA school uses educational materials that propagates anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic rhetoric;
UNRWA is subject to auditing oversight; and
UNRWA holds no accounts or other affiliations with financial institutions deemed by the United States to be complicit in money laundering and terror financing.
Limits U.S. contributions to UNRWA during the period for which a certification is in effect.
Expresses the sense of Congress that:
the President and the Secretary should lead a diplomatic effort to encourage other nations to withhold contributions to UNRWA, or to the regular budget of the U.N. for the support of UNRWA, until UNRWA has met specified conditions;
citizens of recognized states should be removed from UNRWA's jurisdiction;
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 (UNHCR); and
responsibility for the Palestinian refugees should be fully transferred to UNHCR.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 18, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 18, 2014: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN (R-FL) introduced it on September 18, 2014, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 3 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 18, 2014, 4375 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4375 days ago, on September 18, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers