(The Center Square) – U.S. Republican senators led by Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have introduced a bill to strip international organizations’ immunity from lawsuits that provide material support to designated terror groups that commit violent acts against Americans.

The Limiting Immunity for Assisting Backers of Lethal Extremism (LIABLE) Act would allow American victims of terrorism to sue international organizations that provide resources to terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. It would amend title 28 of U.S. Code to state that international organizations do not have immunity in U.S. courts in certain cases related to terrorism under the International Organization Immunity Act (IOIA) “in which money damages are sought against an international organization for personal injury or death that was caused by an act of torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, or the provision of material support or resources for such an act if such act or provision of material support or resources is engaged in by an official, employee, or agent of such international organization while acting within the scope of his or her office, employment, or agency,” according to the bill language.

The bill would authorize U.S. courts to hear cases filed against international organizations that conspired with or materially supported groups designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government. American victims include all U.S. citizens, including members of the U.S. military, government employees and contractors. It also would allow U.S. victims and their family members to sue within a 20-year timeframe of when the terrorist act occurred.

Cruz highlights the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as an international organization that could be sued if his bill became law. UNRWA received hundreds of millions of dollars from the Biden administration that was “poured into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip,” he said. “That process would normally constitute material support for terrorism, because the assistance directly and indirectly benefits Hamas – a known terrorist group. And yet, the Biden administration granted waivers among other legislative measures to circumvent the law and enable UNRWA to support Hamas.”

Under the first Trump administration, the U.S. stopped all federal funding to UNRWA in 2018. President Donald Trump also signed a bill into law prohibiting U.S. funds from benefitting the Palestinian Authority unless it terminates its prisoner and martyr fund.

Former President Joe Biden reversed Trump’s first-term policy and funneled at least $1 billion to UNRWA, a coalition of 26 state attorneys general argued when they called on Congress to stop funding UNRWA, The Center Square reported. Congress kept funding it, as it kept funding taxpayer-funded programs that were used by alleged terrorists released into the U.S. by the Biden administration, according to a recent DOGE report.

A Texas congressman also sued the Biden administration alleging it sent more than $6.3 billion to the Palestinian Authority, which funds terrorism, before the Hamas Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel ever occurred, The Center Square reported.

While some UNRWA officials have denied agency support of terrorism, Cruz and other Republicans argue UNRWA officials for decades have “knowingly provided support to Hamas terrorists, including salaries and materials,” which helped facilitate the Oct. 7 attack. The attack “was the worst one-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and included the murder and kidnapping of dozens of Americans. Those victims and their families deserve the ability to hold UNRWA accountable, and the LIABLE Act would give them that opportunity,” Cruz said.

Months after the Oct. 7 attack, intelligence reports revealed that Hamas was still operating underneath UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters. Large quantities of weapons, rifles, ammunition, grenades and explosives were found in UNRWA offices, as well as a 700-meter long and 18-meter deep tunnel below it, according to several reports, The Center Square reported.

Last year, Cruz and several Republicans called on former Attorney General Merrick Garland to open a criminal investigation into UNRWA.

“The Biden administration has also channeled hundreds of billions of dollars into the Gaza Strip largely through UNRWA. … Israeli officials have presented detailed evidence credibly alleging that 190 UNRWA staff are ‘hardened fighters, killers,’ and that roughly 10% of UNRWA staff – 1,200 personnel – are affiliated with terrorist groups,” they wrote Garland, who ignored their request.

Under the Biden administration, Islamic terrorist incidents increased in the U.S. and worldwide, according to several reports, and a majority of Americans polled said terrorism dangers increased under his watch, The Center Square reported.

Cruz’s bill has several Republican cosponsors. It’s unclear if it will gain enough support from Senate Democrats to pass.

Hydrogen is the next frontier of energy production. Governments around the globe are implementing policies to attract investment and buildout the essential infrastructure to produce, distribute, and use hydrogen across every sector of the global economy.

In recent years, China has moved aggressively to become a global leader for the hydrogen industry. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) approved new policies to boost its domestic low-carbon hydrogen sector and the nation accounts for over 60% of the global electrolyzer manufacturing capacity.

The United States has also positioned itself to capitalize on the hydrogen opportunity.

The federal government created the Regional Hydrogen Hub Program and the Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit to spur investment and development. Combined, these two policies aimed to be the U.S.’s down payment to expand its status as the preeminent global energy leader by paying the entry price to compete for clean hydrogen investment. And at this stage of the nascent industry’s development, immense economic and environmental benefits can be gained by investing now.

For Texas, embracing hydrogen has been a no-brainer, and the technology could soon emerge as a catalyst for the state’s next big energy boom. Texas already leads the country in energy production – gas and renewables – and has the infrastructure and expertise to be a global hub for hydrogen. The Gulf Coast not only contains more than 1,600 miles of hydrogen pipelines but also the deep engineering talent needed to construct and maintain hydrogen facilities.

Texas currently contains 33% of U.S. hydrogen production capacity, and companies have made billions in commitments to build more. In fact, Texas holds nearly half of America’s largest hydrogen projects – those exceeding $1 billion in investments.

This potential to dominate the global hydrogen market is why the Department of Energy (DOE) selected Texas’s HyVelocity Hydrogen Hub along the Gulf Coast to advance domestic hydrogen production. The hub is part of a collaboration with some of the largest energy producers in the world, including Chevron and ExxonMobil, and is projected to contribute over 45,000 new jobs, along with $100 billion to the state’s gross domestic product.

With economic benefits like that, it’s no surprise there is momentum building across the U.S.

However, policy uncertainty – particularly surrounding the hydrogen production tax credit – risks losing our competitive edge to China, Europe, and the Middle East that are accelerating their own hydrogen development.

If Congress were to put 45V on the chopping block, Texas would risk losing out on billions of dollars. One study from the University of Texas found that a hydrogen-rich Texas economy could create more than 750,000 new jobs and have an average net economic benefit of $122 billion by 2050.​

Policies like 45V provide American businesses with the certainty they need to do what they do best: invest and build. This technology-neutral tax credit isn’t about picking winners or losers. It’s about ensuring that American companies, especially those already investing in Texas, can compete on the global stage.

However, there are positive signs that Congress will maintain and support important policies like 45V. Twenty-one Republican representatives and four senators are defending energy tax credits as Congress debates the budget reconciliation bill. We need these leaders to stand firm in that commitment.

Hydrogen is the next frontier, and Texas has the resources, expertise, and infrastructure to lead the way. Congress needs to maintain a common-sense, all-of-the-above approach to our country’s energy future, and preserve policies like the hydrogen production tax credit.

Matt Welch is state director for Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation, a group promoting energy innovation and clean energy policies grounded in the conservative principle of common sense and market-based solutions.

Hydrogen is the next frontier of energy production. Governments around the globe are implementing policies to attract investment and buildout the essential infrastructure to produce, distribute, and use hydrogen across every sector of the global economy.

In recent years, China has moved aggressively to become a global leader for the hydrogen industry. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) approved new policies to boost its domestic low-carbon hydrogen sector and the nation accounts for over 60% of the global electrolyzer manufacturing capacity.

The United States has also positioned itself to capitalize on the hydrogen opportunity.

The federal government created the Regional Hydrogen Hub Program and the Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit to spur investment and development. Combined, these two policies aimed to be the U.S.’s down payment to expand its status as the preeminent global energy leader by paying the entry price to compete for clean hydrogen investment. And at this stage of the nascent industry’s development, immense economic and environmental benefits can be gained by investing now.

For Texas, embracing hydrogen has been a no-brainer, and the technology could soon emerge as a catalyst for the state’s next big energy boom. Texas already leads the country in energy production – gas and renewables – and has the infrastructure and expertise to be a global hub for hydrogen. The Gulf Coast not only contains more than 1,600 miles of hydrogen pipelines but also the deep engineering talent needed to construct and maintain hydrogen facilities.

Texas currently contains 33% of U.S. hydrogen production capacity, and companies have made billions in commitments to build more. In fact, Texas holds nearly half of America’s largest hydrogen projects – those exceeding $1 billion in investments.

This potential to dominate the global hydrogen market is why the Department of Energy (DOE) selected Texas’s HyVelocity Hydrogen Hub along the Gulf Coast to advance domestic hydrogen production. The hub is part of a collaboration with some of the largest energy producers in the world, including Chevron and ExxonMobil, and is projected to contribute over 45,000 new jobs, along with $100 billion to the state’s gross domestic product.

With economic benefits like that, it’s no surprise there is momentum building across the U.S.

However, policy uncertainty – particularly surrounding the hydrogen production tax credit – risks losing our competitive edge to China, Europe, and the Middle East that are accelerating their own hydrogen development.

If Congress were to put 45V on the chopping block, Texas would risk losing out on billions of dollars. One study from the University of Texas found that a hydrogen-rich Texas economy could create more than 750,000 new jobs and have an average net economic benefit of $122 billion by 2050.​

Policies like 45V provide American businesses with the certainty they need to do what they do best: invest and build. This technology-neutral tax credit isn’t about picking winners or losers. It’s about ensuring that American companies, especially those already investing in Texas, can compete on the global stage.

However, there are positive signs that Congress will maintain and support important policies like 45V. Twenty-one Republican representatives and four senators are defending energy tax credits as Congress debates the budget reconciliation bill. We need these leaders to stand firm in that commitment.

Hydrogen is the next frontier, and Texas has the resources, expertise, and infrastructure to lead the way. Congress needs to maintain a common-sense, all-of-the-above approach to our country’s energy future, and preserve policies like the hydrogen production tax credit.

Matt Welch is state director for Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation, a group promoting energy innovation and clean energy policies grounded in the conservative principle of common sense and market-based solutions.