II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 770

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

Jerusalem, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 9 (legislative day, MAY 1), 1995

Mr. DOLE (for himself, Mr. KYL, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. D’AMATO, Mr. HELMS,

Mr. BROWN, Mr. MACK, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. BOND, Mr. THURMOND, Mr.

PRESSLER, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. FAIRCLOTH, Mr. BRADLEY, Mr. LEVIN,

Mr. GRAMM, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. MCCONNELL,

Mr. LOTT, Mr. HATCH, Mr. COATS, Mr. BAUCUS, and Mr. THOMAS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and ordered held at the

desk until the close of business on May 10, 1995

MAY 10 (legislative day, MAY 1), 1995

Referred to the Committee on Foreign 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’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) Each sovereign nation, under international

4 law and custom, may designate its own capital.

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

6 the capital of the State of Israel.

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

8 President, Parliament, and Supreme Court, and the

9 site of numerous government ministries and social

10 and cultural institutions.

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

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

13 members of other religious faiths.

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

15 city and Israeli citizens of all faiths as well as Jew16 ish citizens of all states were denied access to holy

17 sites in the area controlled by Jordan.

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

19 during the conflict known as the Six Day War.

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

21 city administered by Israel, and persons of all reli22 gious faiths have been guaranteed full access to holy

23 sites within the city.

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

25 that Jerusalem has been administered as a unified
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1 city in which the rights of all faiths have been re2 spected and protected.

3 (9) In 1992, the United States Senate and

4 House of Representatives unanimously adopted Sen5 ate Concurrent Resolution 113 of the One Hundred

6 Second Congress to commemorate the 25th anniver7 sary of the reunification of Jerusalem, and

8 reaffirming congressional sentiment that Jerusalem

9 must remain an undivided city.

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

11 Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrange12 ments lays out a timetable for the resolution of

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

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

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

16 five-year transitional period laid out in the Declara17 tion of Principles.

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

19 United States Senate signed a letter to Secretary of

20 State Warren Christopher encouraging ‘‘planning to

21 begin now’’ for relocation of the United States Em22 bassy to the city of Jerusalem.

23 (13) The United States maintains its embassy

24 in the functioning capital of every country except in
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1 the case of our democratic friend and strategic ally,

2 the State of Israel.

3 (14) The United States conducts official meet4 ings and other business in the city of Jerusalem in

5 de facto recognition of its status as the capital of

6 Israel.

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

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

9 Jerusalem since King David’s entry.

10 SEC. 3. TIMETABLE.

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

12 United States that—

13 (1) Jerusalem should be recognized as the cap14 ital of the State of Israel;

15 (2) groundbreaking for construction of the

16 United States Embassy in Jerusalem should begin

17 no later than December 31, 1996; and

18 (3) the United States Embassy should be offi19 cially open in Jerusalem no later than May 31,

20 1999.

21 (b) CONSTRUCTION DETERMINATION.—Not more

22 than 50 percent of the funds appropriated to the Depart23 ment of State for fiscal year 1997 for ‘‘Acquisition and

24 Maintenance of Buildings Abroad’’ may be obligated until

25 the Secretary of State determines and reports to Congress
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1 that construction has begun on the site of the United

2 States Embassy in Jerusalem.

3 (c) OPENING DETERMINATION.—Not more than 50

4 percent of the funds appropriated to the Department of

5 State for fiscal year 1999 for ‘‘Acquisition and Mainte6 nance of Buildings Abroad’’ may be obligated until the

7 Secretary of State determines and reports to Congress

8 that the United States Embassy in Jerusalem has offi9 cially opened.

10 SEC. 4. FISCAL YEAR 1995 FUNDING.

11 Of the funds appropriated for fiscal year 1995 for

12 the Department of State and related agencies, not less

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

14 for costs associated with relocating the United States Em15 bassy in Israel to Jerusalem, including but not limited to

16 site identification, surveys, and land acquisition. Such

17 funds shall be made available in accordance with the pro18 cedures contained in section 34 of the State Department

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

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

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

22 be appropriated for ‘‘Acquisition and Maintenance of

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

24 year 1996, not less than $25,000,000 shall be made avail25 able until expended only for construction and other costs
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1 associated with the relocation of the United States Em2 bassy in Israel to the capital of Jerusalem.

3 (b) FISCAL YEAR 1997.—Of the funds authorized to

4 be appropriated for ‘‘Acquisition and Maintenance of

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

6 year 1997, not less than $75,000,000 shall be made avail7 able until expended only for construction and other costs

8 associated with the relocation of the United States Em9 bassy in Israel to the capital of Jerusalem.

10 SEC. 6. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION.

11 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment

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

13 to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the

14 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate detailing

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

16 Such report shall include—

17 (1) estimated dates of completion for each

18 phase of the relocation of the United States Em19 bassy, including site identification, land acquisition,

20 architectural, engineering and construction surveys,

21 site preparation, and construction; and

22 (2) an estimate of the funding necessary to im23 plement this Act, including all costs associated with

24 relocating the United States Embassy to Jerusalem.
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1 SEC. 7. SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.

2 Beginning January 1, 1996, and every six months

3 thereafter, the Secretary of State shall report to the

4 Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Commit5 tee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on the progress

6 made toward opening the United States Embassy in Jeru7 salem.

8 SEC. 8. DEFINITION.

9 As used in this Act, the term ‘‘United States Em10 bassy’’ means the offices of the United States diplomatic

11 mission and the residence of the United States chief of

12 mission.

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