Sec. 6. Funding
572 words·~3 min read·
/bill/115/s/3425/is/section-6A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
If the certification referred to in section 5(b) is not made before June 30, 2020, and a waiver pursuant to section 5(c) is not in effect— the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, is authorized to reprogram during fiscal year 2020, for the purposes set forth in subsection (b), amounts that were intended, appropriated, or obligated for UNRWA; and there are authorized to be appropriated, for fiscal year 2021, $360,000,000 for the purposes set forth in subsection (b). Amounts reprogrammed or appropriated pursuant to subsection
(a)may be used for assistance to Palestinians living in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria, or Lebanon through— the Palestinian Authority, for the provision of health, education, and other necessary services; vetted nongovernmental organizations providing humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip; the governments of countries in which UNRWA operates and maintains official UNRWA facilities, for the provision of health, education, and other necessary services; the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, for services to persons of Palestinian descent who have been denied citizenship in Syria or Lebanon to find individual solutions of local integration or resettlement in third countries in a way that— ends their refugee status; and is consistent with current UNHCR policy with respect to all refugees; the United States Agency for International Development or other local entities, as determined by the Secretary, such as hospitals, clinics, and schools, for the provision of health and education services in the West Bank if the Palestinian Authority cannot or will not use United States funding for the purposes described in paragraph (1); and other entities, as determined by the Secretary, for humanitarian, education, health care, and economic development-related assistance for the Palestinians. There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund, which shall be known as the Palestinian Assistance Trust Fund , which shall consist of amounts reprogrammed pursuant to subsection (a). The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall distribute amounts from the Palestinian Assistance Trust Fund to the entities listed in paragraphs
(1)through
(6)of subsection
(a)based on such criteria and benchmarks as the Secretary shall establish, in accordance with subparagraph (B). The criteria and benchmarks established by the Secretary under subparagraph
(A)shall seek to prioritize the distribution of funds to entities listed in paragraphs
(1)through
(6)of subsection
(a)based upon the transfer of responsibility for— education, health, and other services currently provided by UNRWA in the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority; such services in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority or vetted nongovernmental or United Nations organizations working in the region; such services in other countries (in which UNRWA operates and maintains official UNRWA facilities) to the governments of such countries; and such services to UNHCR for assistance to Palestinians denied citizenship in Syria and Lebanon, contingent upon the implementation of a plan for permanent resettlement in such countries or other third countries. The application of the criteria under subparagraph
(B)should— reduce the number of Palestinians who are classified as refugees by the United Nations and other international refugee organizations; increase the employment rate and job opportunities available for former UNRWA beneficiaries; and enhance the Palestinian Authority’s ability— to govern effectively; and to provide necessary services to all Palestinians under its authority in the West Bank.