UNRWA USA Advocates Return to Capitol Hill to Urge Restoration of U.S. Funding for UNRWA
WASHINGTON, D.C. —This past week, UNRWA USA advocates from 15 states met with over 50 congressional offices from both parties across the House and Senate to appeal for the restoration of U.S. government funding to UNRWA and continued humanitarian assistance for Palestine refugee families across the Middle East.
During their visit to the Capitol, UNRWA USA advocates called for support for the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act of 2025 (S.898/H.R. 2411), legislation that would restore U.S. government funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the humanitarian agency providing education, healthcare, psychosocial support, and emergency response to millions of Palestine refugees in Gaza, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.
The bicameral bill, reintroduced in the 119th Congress in March 2025 by Representative André Carson and Senator Peter Welch, has earned the support of 85 members of Congress. UNRWA USA is urging its supporters to call on their elected officials to co-sponsor the bill.
In January 2024, 16 member states of the UN, including the U.S., paused funding to UNRWA following Israeli allegations of misconduct by 12 UNRWA employees of the 13,000 working in Gaza at the time, leaving millions of Palestine refugees without access to critical aid in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. Following the investigation, all major UN member states except the United States resumed their funding to UNRWA. U.S. government funding to UNRWA remains frozen to this day.
Advocates also called on lawmakers to co-sponsor the Food for Palestinian Children and Families in Gaza Act (H.R. 7565), legislation aimed at improving food security in Gaza in coordination with UNRWA and other humanitarian agencies, and increasing accountability for aid delivery. Famine was declared in Gaza in August 2025, and while conditions have slightly improved since the ceasefire agreement in October 2025, over 75% of the population is facing crisis level hunger or worse. UNRWA USA warns that humanitarian conditions in Gaza remain catastrophic and the delivery of life-saving services cannot withstand further obstacles or roadblocks.
UNRWA was established in 1949, and for decades the U.S. has been the Agency’s largest financial contributor, providing over 30% of UNRWA’s annual budget. The continued freeze in U.S. funding has strained UNRWA’s ability to provide life-saving services to Palestine refugees at the necessary scale, not only in Gaza, but across the region as attacks continue and the situation deteriorates, particularly in Lebanon.
Despite attempts to block UNRWA’s work, UNRWA remains the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza with over 11,000 staff providing vital life-saving services every day. UNRWA’s healthcare staff provide over 40% of Gaza’s primary healthcare needs, conducting over 13,000 medical consultations daily. UNRWA teachers educate 60,000 students in-person each week, with online lessons reaching hundreds of thousands more.
“Americans from all fifty states have spoken not only with their voices, but with their actions. Since October of 2023, UNRWA USA’s community of donors grew from 7,000 to more than 200,000 people raising over $100 million in critical UNRWA-led humanitarian assistance,” said UNRWA USA Chief Executive Officer Mara Kronenfeld. “In a time of suffering, the American people have chosen compassion over indifference. They believe that our shared humanity carries a responsibility to act and fund the only humanitarian agency with the experience and scale to give hope to those suffering across the region. It also makes it clear that voters prioritize stability and humanitarian leadership in the region.”
————-
UNRWA USA National Committee (UNRWA USA) is an independent nonprofit organization that provides support for the humanitarian work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). UNRWA USA lifts up the voices, experiences, and humanity of Palestine refugees to secure American support for resources essential to every human being, for the promise of a better life. U.S. taxpayers are eligible for tax deductions for donations made through UNRWA USA.
Media Contact: For more information, contact Zeina Hijazi Dubray, Director of Strategic Communications, UNRWA USA, by phone at (202) 909 7701 or via email at zeina@unrwausa.org.
