I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3547 
To authorize the Secretary of State to establish a permanent residence in 
Jerusalem, Israel, for the United States Ambassador to Israel, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 28, 2017 
Mr. ISSA (for himself, Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. NOEM, Mr. ALLEN, and Mr. FLO-
RES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of State to establish a permanent 
residence in Jerusalem, Israel, for the United States 
Ambassador to Israel, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jerusalem’s Enhanced 
and Secure Accommodations Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The United States was among the first 
countries to recognize Israel as an independent na-
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tion on May 14, 1948, and over the decades, Israel 
has remained one of America’s strong allies. 
(2) The first United States Ambassador to 
Israel was James Grover McDonald in March 1949. 
(3) The United States Embassy in Tel Aviv, 
Israel, opened in 1966 to maintain and promote dip-
lomatic relations between the two countries. 
(4) The United States maintains a Consulate 
General in Jerusalem. 
(5) The United States Embassy in Israel re-
mains the only United States Embassy not located 
in a country’s capital city, even though the Jeru-
salem Embassy Act of 1995 (Public Law 104–45) 
directed the United States Embassy to be relocated 
in Jerusalem by May 31, 1999, and the Foreign Re-
lations Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 
(Public Law 107–228) urged the President to begin 
relocating the embassy ‘‘immediately’’, every Presi-
dent since 1995 has signed a waiver in the interest 
of national security to delay the move of the em-
bassy. 
(6) The United States Ambassador has a resi-
dence in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv; however, for dec-
ades, ambassadors have spent a significant amount 
of their time in Jerusalem. For convenience and se-
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curity, many of them have established their own 
temporary residences and have held official business 
meetings and stayed in hotels in Jerusalem. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF CONGRESS. 
Congress— 
(1) reaffirms that Israel is a major strategic 
partner of the United States; and 
(2) expresses support for individuals and orga-
nizations working to encourage cooperation between 
Israelis and Palestinians to bring an end to the con-
flict. 
SEC. 4. PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR UNITED STATES AM-
BASSADOR TO ISRAEL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State is author-
ized, notwithstanding any other provision of law, to estab-
lish in Jerusalem, Israel, a permanent residence for the 
United States ambassador to Israel. 
(b) LOCATION.—The permanent residence described 
in subsection (a) may be located at the United States con-
sulate in Jerusalem, Israel, or at a different location in 
Jerusalem, as the Secretary of State determines appro-
priate. 
Æ 
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