II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3717 

To prohibit United States voluntary contributions to the United Nations. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 31, 2024 

Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina (for himself and Mr. CRUZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To prohibit United States voluntary contributions to the 

United Nations. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Terrorism 

5 at the U.N. Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The United Nations Relief and Works 

9 Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (re10 ferred to in this Act as ‘‘UNRWA’’) was established 


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1 through passage of United Nations Resolution 302 

2 (1949) to assist Arab refugees who had been dis3 placed by the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. 

4 (2) The United Nations High Commissioner for 

5 Refugees (referred to in this Act as ‘‘UNHCR’’) was 

6 established by the United Nations General Assembly 

7 in 1950 to assist refugees and other displaced per8 sons, including internally displaced persons, in all re9 gions around the world. 

10 (3) UNRWA is the only specialized agency or 

11 entity of the United Nations with a sole conflict or 

12 regional mandate. 

13 (4) For years, UNRWA has faced credible and 

14 corroborated accusations of corruption, antisemitism, 

15 and support for terrorism. 

16 (5) Such accusations include the use of 

17 antisemitic material in UNRWA classrooms and the 

18 use of UNWRA facilities for the storage of muni19 tions by Hamas, an Iranian-backed, United States20 designated foreign terrorist organization. 

21 (6) On January 26, 2024, UNRWA terminated 

22 the contracts of 12 staff members who were accused 

23 of participating in Hamas’ brutal terrorist attacks 

24 against Israel on October 7, 2023. 


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1 (7) The attacks of October 7, 2023, claimed the 

2 lives of 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, includ3 ing 35 citizens of the United States, and resulted in 

4 the hostage taking of 240 Israelis and foreign na5 tionals. 

6 (8) The United States has contributed more 

7 than $7,000,000,000 to UNRWA since 1949, mak8 ing it the largest individual donor to the agency. 

9 (9) United States contributions to UNRWA 

10 were suspended from 2018 through 2020, due to al11 legations of corruption, antisemitism, and support 

12 for terrorism. 

13 (10) The United States has provided more than 

14 $730,000,000 to UNRWA since United States con15 tributions to the agency resumed in 2021. 

16 (11) Following the accusations of the involve17 ment of UNRWA staff in the terrorist attacks of 

18 October 7, 2023, the Department of State an19 nounced the temporary suspension of United States 

20 funding to UNRWA. 

21 (12) Since January 26, 2024, more than six22 teen additional countries and the European Union 

23 have suspended their contributions to UNRWA. 

24 (13) While the majority of funding for UNRWA 

25 comes from voluntary contributions, the agency reVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:39 Feb 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717

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1 ceives a portion of its funding from the regular 

2 budget of the United Nations. 

3 (14) The estimated budget for the UNRWA for 

4 United Nations fiscal year 2024 includes 

5 $55,176,800 from the regular budget of the United 

6 Nations. 

7 (15) The United States provides 22 percent of 

8 the regular budget of the United Nations. 

9 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

10 It is the sense of Congress that the UNHCR should 

11 serve all global refugee and displaced person populations, 

12 including those within the original jurisdiction of the 

13 UNRWA. 

14 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTIONS 

15 TO THE UNITED NATIONS. 

16 No funds may be provided as a voluntary or assessed 

17 contribution of the United States to the United Nations, 

18 including any organ, agency, or entity of the United Na19 tions until— 

20 (1) UNRWA is abolished; 

21 (2) the Secretary of State certifies to the appro22 priate congressional committees that the United Na23 tions has completed appropriate counterterrorism 

24 vetting for all United Nations employees and conVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Feb 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717

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1 tractors operating in the original jurisdiction of the 

2 UNRWA; and 

3 (3) the Secretary of State certifies to the appro4 priate congressional committees that the United Na5 tions, including staff and facilities receiving United 

6 Nations funding, do not teach, promote, or include 

7 in materials, such as textbooks and other instruc8 tional materials, any content that promotes anti9 semitism or encourages violence or intolerance to10 ward other countries or ethnic groups. 

11 SEC. 5. TRANSITION REPORT. 

12 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appro14 priate congressional committees a report that— 

15 (1) identifies the totality of services provided by 

16 UNRWA; 

17 (2) details how such services will be absorbed 

18 by existing United Nations funds, programs, special19 ized agencies, and organizations; 

20 (3) details how such services may be absorbed 

21 through bilateral assistance; 

22 (4) includes a plan to ensure all United Nations 

23 funds, programs, specialized agencies, and organiza24 tions implement and maintain stringent counterter25 rorism vetting standards; and 


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1 (5) includes a plan to ensure all United Nations 

2 funds, programs, specialized agencies, and organiza3 tions implement and maintain stringent oversight of 

4 educational material and curriculum that prohibits 

5 all content that promotes antisemitism or encour6 ages violence or intolerance toward other countries 

7 or ethnic groups. 

8 SEC. 6. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE9 FINED. 

10 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com11 mittees’’ means— 

12 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

13 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

14 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

15 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep16 resentatives. 

Æ 


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