WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today authored a bill to ban U.S. funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) permanently.

Kennedy’s bill would also divert unspent U.S. UNRWA funding to protect American citizens by continuing to construct a wall along America’s southern border.  

“Hamas uses UNRWA facilities as a shield to perpetuate vicious antisemitic attacks against Israel, and it uses UNRWA resources to indoctrinate the people it is supposed to be caring for. UNRWA employees actively participated in violently massacring Israel civilians last October. The U.S. can’t keep bankrolling a corrupt group that helps Hamas attack our greatest ally in the Middle East, and the Biden administration can’t keep turning a blind eye to its border crisis,” said Kennedy.

Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) have co-sponsored the legislation.

According to reporting this week, “At least 12 employees of the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee agency had connections to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and around 10% of all of its Gaza staff have ties to Islamist militant groups.” In fact, reporting based on intelligence documents revealed that six UNRWA workers joined the Palestinian militants who “killed 1,200 people in the deadliest assault on Jews since the Holocaust.” UNRWA workers also did logistics work for the attack and procured weapons that terrorists used against civilians.

The U.S. currently contributes more to UNRWA than any other nation, giving the Hamas-front group $343 million in 2022 alone after President Joe Biden reversed former President Donald Trump’s 2018 stop on aid to the group. 

UNRWA is one of the largest United Nations (U.N.) programs and relies almost wholly on independent and state donations to run its programs. 

Through its mandate, UNRWA is supposed to provide basic education, primary health care, micro-credit and emergency assistance to the residents of Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza. Independent reviews of UNRWA-supplied curriculum, however, have shown that it includes “a systematic insertion of violence, martyrdom and jihad across all grades and subjects.”

The effects of this anti-Semitic indoctrination are far-reaching, as roughly one-third of UNRWA’s budget goes to providing education to refugees.

The links between UNRWA’s educational work and Hamas terrorism became starker with reporting that seven of the UNRWA workers connected to the Oct. 7 attacks taught primary or secondary school children. 

Kennedy has also introduced the Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act to document whether Palestinian students are being taught inaccurate or racist content about Israel and the Jewish people. 

Hamas has used UNRWA facilities as cover to fire rockets into Israel in the wake of Hamas’ massacre of Israeli citizens.

In 2015, a U.N. inquiry found weapons in UNRWA schools.

Text of the bill is available here.

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.), Ranking member of the Senate Energy and Water Subcommittee on Appropriations, Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and colleagues urged the Biden administration to reverse its decision to pause permitting for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities in the U.S.

The Biden administration announced the pause on Jan. 26, 2024, threatening America’s industry and national security interests with dubious environmental justification. Louisiana’s Calcasieu Pass 2 project is among the 17 proposed LNG terminals frozen by this decision.

“American LNG exports have enhanced our geopolitical influence and international energy security across the board since 2016. In addition to Europe, U.S. LNG has a significant impact on energy security in Asia,” the senators wrote.

“Limiting U.S. LNG exports does not have any impact on the world’s demand for natural gas. Instead, countries including Russia and Iran will simply produce more energy that is subject to less stringent environmental regulations. As a result, limiting American LNG exports in the name of stopping climate change could do just the opposite and add to global emissions,” the lawmakers explained.

“According to an ICF study, increased exports of U.S. LNG could create more than 450,000 jobs and increase GDP by $73 billion. Given the recent growth in the domestic LNG industry, those benefits could be even greater today and in the future,” they continued.

“We strongly urge you to stop this shortsighted effort. As the President of the United States and as the Secretary of Energy, you should be championing—not undermining—American LNG exports and the environmental, economic, and national security benefits to the United States and our allies,” the senators concluded.

 Background: 

• Louisiana’s LNG export terminals account for 63% of all U.S. LNG exports.

• The LNG industry employs 18,000 people in Louisiana and contributes $4.4 billion to the state’s economy.

• On Jan. 18, 2024, Kennedy authored a separate letter warning Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm of the adverse effects of limiting LNG exports through unnecessary permitting burdens.

The full letter is available here.

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $14,089,774 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for Louisiana disaster aid and protective measures.

“Louisianians are working hard to recover from hurricane damage and protect their infrastructure from future storms. I’m grateful to see this $14.1 million help the people of Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes with their recovery from Hurricane Ida and help Cameron Parish prepare for future disasters,” said Kennedy.

The FEMA aid will fund the following:

• $8,512,546 to Terrebonne Parish to restore Buquet Bridge due to damages caused by Hurricane Ida.

• $1,316,566 to the Greater Lafourche Port Commission to repair damages to the Wilbert Collins Sr. Fourchon Operations Center, the Johnny Melacon Jr. Fourchon Emergency Operations Center and the Fourchon Operations Warehouse caused by Hurricane Ida.

• $4,037,364 to Cameron Parish to fund the first phase of the construction of an electric substation and transmission line.

• $223,298 to Cameron Parish for management costs associated with the first phase of electric substation and transmission line construction.

Watch Kennedy’s comments here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today spoke in the Senate Banking Committee about the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Risk Rating 2.0 program, which has dramatically raised flood insurance premiums for Louisianians.

Of the 5 million Americans who rely on the NFIP to protect their businesses and homes, roughly 500,000 are Louisianians.

Key excerpts from the senator’s remarks are below.

“[FEMA] lied. They said a million people of the 5 million people will see their rates go down. I haven't talked to a single person who's seen their rates go down. This is just an excuse to raise premiums, and they don't care. The whole purpose of the National Flood Insurance Program is to provide a product that people can afford.”

“In my state, here's what the premiums have done: They said, ‘A lot of [your] people, Kennedy, they'll see it decreases.’ Terrebonne County—we call our counties ‘parishes’—305% increase. Another parish: 321%. Plaquemines Parish: 540%. FEMA lied, and they're not going to do any better.”

“Right now, FEMA can raise the premiums 18% every single year, and they’re going to keep doing it because they don't care. They lied to the American people and my people, and they ought to hide their heads in a bag.”

In June 2023, Kennedy helped introduce the National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act to reauthorize the NFIP for five years and cap annual policy premium hikes at 9%.

Background:

• On Sept. 28, 2023 the Senate blocked Kennedy’s second attempt at passing his NFIP Extension Act of 2023 on the Senate floor. 

• On Sept. 13, 2023 the Senate blocked Kennedy’s NFIP Extension Act of 2023 from passing on the Senate floor. 

• In July 2023, Kennedy first introduced the NFIP Extension Act of 2023 to ensure that the program would not lapse on its expiration date.

• In 2019, Kennedy’s National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2019 became law.

• In 2018, Kennedy’s first National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act became law.  

• In addition, Kennedy has helped ensure that multiple continuing resolutions to fund the federal government have included an extension of the NFIP.

View Kennedy’s full remarks here.