I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1595

To provide for the relocation of the United States Embassy in Israel to

Jerusalem, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 9, 1995

Mr. GINGRICH (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. HORN, Mr. LAZIO, Mr. ZIMMER,

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. WELLER, Mr. DELAY, Mr. PAXON, Mr.

SOLOMON, Mr. MCINTOSH, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. ARCHER,

Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. NUSSLE, Mrs. VUCANOVICH, Mr. BARR, Mr.

TORKILDSEN, and Mr. BURTON of Indiana) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

A BILL

To provide for the relocation of the United States Embassy

in Israel to Jerusalem, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jerusalem Embassy

5 Relocation Implementation Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) Each sovereign nation, under international

2 law and custom, may designate its own capital.

3 (2) Since 1950, the city of Jerusalem has been

4 the capital of the State of Israel.

5 (3) The city of Jerusalem is the seat of Israel’s

6 President, Parliament, and Supreme Court, and the

7 site of numerous government ministries and social

8 and cultural institutions.

9 (4) The city of Jerusalem is the spiritual center

10 of Judaism, and is also considered a holy city by the

11 members of other religious faiths.

12 (5) From 1948–1967, Jerusalem was a divided

13 city and Israeli citizens of all faiths as well as Jew14 ish citizens of all states were denied access to holy

15 sites in the area controlled by Jordan.

16 (6) In 1967, the city of Jerusalem was reunited

17 during the conflict known as the Six Day War.

18 (7) Since 1967, Jerusalem has been a united

19 city administered by Israel, and persons of all reli20 gious faiths have been guaranteed full access to holy

21 sites within the city.

22 (8) This year marks the 28th consecutive year

23 that Jerusalem has been administered as a unified

24 city in which the rights of all faiths have been re25 spected and protected.
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1 (9) In 1992, the United States Senate and

2 House of Representatives unanimously adopted Sen3 ate Concurrent Resolution 113 of the One Hundred

4 Second Congress to commemorate the 25th anniver5 sary of the reunification of Jerusalem, and

6 reaffirming congressional sentiment that Jerusalem

7 must remain an undivided city.

8 (10) The September 13, 1993, Declaration of

9 Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrange10 ments lays out a timetable for the resolution of

11 ‘‘final status’’ issues, including Jerusalem.

12 (11) The Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the

13 Jericho Area was signed May 4, 1994, beginning the

14 five-year transitional period laid out in the Declara15 tion of Principles.

16 (12) In March of 1995, 93 members of the

17 United States Senate signed a letter to Secretary of

18 State Warren Christopher encouraging ‘‘planning to

19 begin now’’ for relocation of the United States Em20 bassy to the city of Jerusalem.

21 (13) The United States maintains its embassy

22 in the functioning capital of every country except in

23 the case of our democratic friend and strategic ally,

24 the State of Israel.
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1 (14) The United States conducts official meet2 ings and other business in the city of Jerusalem in

3 de facto recognition of its status as the capital of

4 Israel.

5 (15) In 1996, the State of Israel will celebrate

6 the 3,000th anniversary of the Jewish presence in

7 Jerusalem since King David’s entry.

8 SEC. 3. TIMETABLE.

9 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the

10 United States that—

11 (1) Jerusalem should be recognized as the cap12 ital of the State of Israel;

13 (2) groundbreaking for construction of the

14 United States Embassy in Jerusalem should begin

15 no later than December 31, 1996; and

16 (3) the United States Embassy should be offi17 cially open in Jerusalem no later than May 31,

18 1999.

19 (b) CONSTRUCTION DETERMINATION.—Not more

20 than 50 percent of the funds appropriated to the Depart21 ment of State for fiscal year 1997 for ‘‘Acquisition and

22 Maintenance of Buildings Abroad’’ may be obligated until

23 the Secretary of State determines and reports to Congress

24 that construction has begun on the site of the United

25 States Embassy in Jerusalem.
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1 (c) OPENING DETERMINATION.—Not more than 50

2 percent of the funds appropriated to the Department of

3 State for fiscal year 1999 for ‘‘Acquisition and Mainte4 nance of Buildings Abroad’’ may be obligated until the

5 Secretary of State determines and reports to Congress

6 that the United States Embassy in Jerusalem has offi7 cially opened.

8 SEC. 4. FISCAL YEAR 1995 FUNDING.

9 Of the funds appropriated for fiscal year 1995 for

10 the Department of State and related agencies, not less

11 than $5,000,000 shall be made available until expended

12 for costs associated with relocating the United States Em13 bassy in Israel to Jerusalem, including but not limited to

14 site identification, surveys, and land acquisition. Such

15 funds shall be made available in accordance with the pro16 cedures contained in section 34 of the State Department

17 Basic Authorities Act (22 U.S.C. 2706).

18 SEC. 5. FISCAL YEARS 1996 AND 1997 FUNDING.

19 (a) FISCAL YEAR 1996.—Of the funds authorized to

20 be appropriated for ‘‘Acquisition and Maintenance of

21 Buildings Abroad’’ for the Department of State in fiscal

22 year 1996, not less than $25,000,000 shall be made avail23 able until expended only for construction and other costs

24 associated with the relocation of the United States Em25 bassy in Israel to the capital of Jerusalem.
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1 (b) FISCAL YEAR 1997.—Of the funds authorized to

2 be appropriated for ‘‘Acquisition and Maintenance of

3 Buildings Abroad’’ for the Department of State in fiscal

4 year 1997, not less than $75,000,000 shall be made avail5 able until expended only for construction and other costs

6 associated with the relocation of the United States Em7 bassy in Israel to the capital of Jerusalem.

8 SEC. 6. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION.

9 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment

10 of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report

11 to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the

12 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate detailing

13 the Department of State’s plan to implement this Act.

14 Such report shall include—

15 (1) estimated dates of completion for each

16 phase of the relocation of the United States Em17 bassy, including site identification, land acquisition,

18 architectural, engineering and construction surveys,

19 site preparation, and construction; and

20 (2) an estimate of the funding necessary to im21 plement this Act, including all costs associated with

22 relocating the United States Embassy to Jerusalem.

23 SEC. 7. SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.

24 Beginning January 1, 1996, and every six months

25 thereafter, the Secretary of State shall report to the
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1 Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Commit2 tee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on the progress

3 made toward opening the United States Embassy in Jeru4 salem.

5 SEC. 8. DEFINITION.

6 As used in this Act, the term ‘‘United States Em7 bassy’’ means the offices of the United States diplomatic

8 mission and the residence of the United States chief of

9 mission.

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