Democratic Vermont Sen. Peter Welch reintroduced a bill Friday to restore congressional funding to the United Nations’ agency that employed terrorists who participated in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Welch’s bill would restore U.S. contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), citing the agency’s role as the largest aid provider in Gaza. The United States has not contributed to UNRWA since the Biden administration paused funding to the agency in January 2024 following Israel’s accusation that at least 12 agency employees participated in Hamas’ attack.
UNRWA fired nine employees in August 2024 after finding they participated in the October 7th attacks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said UNRWA staff with ties to Hamas “must be held accountable.”
The humanitarian work of UNRWA helps keep one of the most volatile regions in the world stable.
That’s why I’ve introduced a bill alongside my colleagues to restore funding to UNRWA so the organization can resume its work combatting hunger and disease.
— Senator Peter Welch (@SenPeterWelch) March 7, 2025
Welch’s bill faces steep hurdles to becoming law given widespread opposition from President Donald Trump, Senate Republicans and some Democratic lawmakers to funding UNWRA over the agency’s ties to Hamas.
Trump signed an executive order barring funding for UNRWA on Feb. 3. The president also cut off congressional funding to UNRWA during his first term in August 2018.
“UNRWA has reportedly been infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State (Secretary) as foreign terrorist organizations, and UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel,” Trump wrote in the executive order.
United States Ambassador to the United Nations-designate Elise Stefanik has pledged to crack down on UNRWA, calling the agency a “pro-Hamas terrorist front group.”
“I can promise you, that as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, we are not only going to just defund UNRWA, we will totally dismantle it,” Stefanik said in a speech to the Anti-Defamation League’s “Never Is Now” Summit on Tuesday.
Congress prohibited new contributions to UNRWA until March 25, 2025 by including language barring funding to the agency in the FY24 Appropriations Act, which passed in March 2024 and was signed into law by former President Joe Biden. The United States has historically been UNRWA’s largest donor, funding roughly 30% of the agency’s budget — roughly $370 million — in 2023, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Welch previously introduced the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act in November 2024, but the bill was not taken up in the formerly Democratic-controlled Senate. Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont co-sponsored the bill.
Over 100 Israelis sued UNRWA in June 2024 alleging the agency “knowingly provided material support to Hamas in Gaza” and aided Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel.
Welch voted to limit offensive weapons sales to Israel in November and voted against a defense appropriations package in April 2024, citing the inclusion of military aid to Israel amid the country’s war against Hamas.
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