GOP Senators Push To Prohibit US Funding for UNRWA

A coalition of Republican senators led by Rick Scott (Fla.) is pushing a bill that would prohibit the United States from funding a Hamas-tied U.N. agency, according to a copy of the bill obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Scott on Wednesday introduced the Stop Support for UNRWA Act of 2026 to completely ban U.S. taxpayer funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, a body that employed several individuals found to have participated in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel. In addition to legally enshrining the Trump administration’s move to freeze U.S. support for UNRWA, the legislation would prevent the United States from funding any successor organization that may arise in UNRWA’s place.

The legislation, which has eight GOP cosponsors as of Wednesday afternoon, comes amid an investigation into the agency and other U.N. bodies that the Office of Inspector General in USAID—an investigative entity separate from USAID—has conducted over the past several months. Federal investigators have identified three current or former UNRWA employees who participated in the Oct. 7 attack and another 14 otherwise affiliated with Hamas.

Another provision in the Stop Support for UNRWA Act would strip the agency of its diplomatic immunity under U.S. law, clearing the path for lawsuits against the body to proceed. Israeli victims of the Oct. 7 attack sued UNRWA in 2024, alleging that it ran "a billion-dollar money laundering operation that funded Hamas," and the bill may prompt U.S. citizens affected by the Hamas attack to bring their own suits.

The bill would also stop the U.S. government from engaging with any U.N. agency, body, or commission run by a country known to support "acts of international terrorism." Countries like Iran, the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism, are frequently appointed to lead U.N. groups. The Islamic Republic was selected as the vice-chair of the U.N. Commission for Social Development, which focuses on issues including women’s rights, in February. States like Syria and Cuba have also held positions on U.N. bodies like the Human Rights Council and a committee on crimes against humanity.

Though the Trump administration has already frozen U.S. funding for UNRWA indefinitely, the Stop Support for UNRWA Act would ensure that a future Democratic administration could not reverse that decision. When the Biden administration temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA in early 2024 following allegations that agency employees had participated in Oct. 7, a group of 50 Democratic lawmakers called for a full renewal of U.S. support. The U.N. agency ramped up its lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., last month, seeking to bolster its support within the Democratic Party and push the U.S. government toward restoring its funding.

Scott introduced a second bill Wednesday as part of a package targeting international organizations that undermine U.S. interests. The IGO Boycott Act, which has six GOP cosponsors, would amend existing law to ensure that U.S. businesses and persons cannot join boycotts of countries friendly to the United States. The 2018 Anti-Boycott Act originally prevented U.S. individuals and corporations from engaging in economic boycotts against U.S. allies backed by foreign governments, which in practice prevented those people and companies from joining the Arab League’s boycott against Israel. The new legislation would extend the law to apply to boycotts supported by international governmental organizations like the United Nations and European Union, with an eye toward the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, imposing financial penalties for U.S. entities that join.

A version of the IGO Boycott Act passed through the House of Representatives in 2024 with bipartisan support, but the Senate’s then-Democratic majority did not take up the bill. With Republicans now controlling both chambers of Congress and Scott shepherding the bill in the Senate, it is likely that House members will once again rally behind the effort.

Scott told the Free Beacon that the legislation he introduced will prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from ending up in the hands of organizations that work against U.S. interests.

"Every single American tax dollar we spend should be making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous," he said. "There should be absolutely no funding from the U.S. going to entities that support terrorism, undermine our interests, or target our allies. These bills will ensure that American policies actually line up with America’s needs and interests—not those of foreign government organizations like UNRWA or the U.N."

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