Progressive House Democrats heavily criticized a provision in the recently revealed $1.2 trillion spending package that would stop funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Some well-known progressives pointed out cuts in funding for the essential United Nations agency that gives food, water, and shelter to Palestinians in Gaza as one of the reasons they are hesitant about voting for the government funding bill.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said the decision to limit funding is “highly political.”
“I think it’s unthinkable; it’s unthinkable,” Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday. “It’s also not based on sound facts. We have intelligence assessments that confirm this, and I find it highly political.”
The Biden administration stated it would temporarily cease funding for UNRWA over allegations that some of its employees were involved in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and Republicans advocated for maintaining the funding cut.
Democrats argued that the dozen people reportedly involved represent a very small portion of UNRWA’s 30,000 employees, and that UNRWA is a crucial resource for Palestinians facing a humanitarian crisis and would leave a gap no other agency can fill.
UNRWA funding had become a late sticking point in negotiations over the spending deal. The measure would extend the pause through March 2025 and deprive the agency of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) on Thursday expressed a similar sentiment as his colleague from the Empire State.
“That’s some bullshit,” Bowman told The Hill on Thursday when asked about the provision.
Bowman said he still needs to “look deeper at” the spending package, but he later continued his criticism.
“But that’s some bullshit if we are not funding UNRWA,” he said. “UNRWA is the long-standing organization working on-the-ground in Gaza, providing humanitarian aid, and we have a humanitarian crisis right now where babies and children are starving to death. It’s evil. It’s unacceptable. We gotta fund UNRWA for sure.”
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said she was “leaning no” on voting for the spending bills that would help avert a partial government shutdown.
Part of the reason was a 3 percent increase in defense spending, but the other was the UNRWA funding restriction.
“I’m still looking at it, but I’m leaning no,” Jayapal told The Hill on Thursday.
She said she was satisfied the GOP did not end up with all of the “wins” they wanted to have in the minibus negotiations, but she reiterated her concerns over UNRWA funds and the defense package.
“But for me, UNRWA prohibition is a big deal,” Jayapal said. “The defense budget is a big deal, so I’m still deciding what I’m gonna do.”
The lower chamber is expected to take up the spending package Friday. If it passes, it moves to the Senate where lawmakers would have to swiftly take it up and pass it in order to avoid a lapse in funding for numerous agencies.
“I will vote no on this bill that prohibits aid to children in Gaza who are dying of hunger,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) wrote in a Thursday post on X, previously called Twitter. “Don't bother with the politics & detailed rules. This is a test of basic beliefs. The America I believe in should never ignore the man made starvation of children.”
Mychael Schnell contributed.
