Title: Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel Act
This bill states that it is U.S. policy to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States should recognize the sovereign status of an undivided Jerusalem as Israel's capital, (2) recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and transferring the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv will signal U.S. commitment to Israel, (3) the President and the Department of State should affirm as a matter of U.S. policy that Jerusalem must remain Israel's undivided capital, (4) the President should implement the provisions of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and begin the process of relocating the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and (5) U.S. officials should refrain from actions that contradict U.S. law on this subject.
The bill states that any official U.S. government document that lists countries and their capital cities should identify Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
The President shall relocate the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem by January 1, 2019.
The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 is amended to eliminate the President's authority, effective January, 1, 2018, to waive certain funding limitations for State Department acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad until the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 257 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 257

  To recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to transfer to 
        Jerusalem the United States Embassy located in Tel Aviv.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2017

   Mr. Franks of Arizona (for himself, Mr. DeSantis, and Mr. Zeldin) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to transfer to 
        Jerusalem the United States Embassy located in Tel Aviv.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Recognition of Jerusalem as the 
Capital of the State of Israel Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) For more than 3,000 years, the Jewish people have 
        maintained a continuous connection and presence in the land of 
        Israel and their eternal and indivisible capital city of 
        Jerusalem.
            (2) The State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948, in 
        the wake of World War II in order to serve as a homeland and 
        place of refuge for the Jewish people.
            (3) From 1948 to 1967, Jerusalem was a divided city and not 
        all Israeli citizens of all faiths were entitled to visit the 
        holy sites, and Jews from other countries were restricted in 
        their access to holy sites in the area controlled by Jordan. In 
        1967, the city of Jerusalem was reunited during the conflict 
        known as the Six Day War, and since 1967, Jerusalem has been a 
        unified city administered by Israel, and persons of all faiths 
        have been guaranteed full access to the holy sites within the 
        city.
            (4) On July 31, 1988, Jordan relinquished its disputed 
        sovereignty claims to Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem, and 
        therefore sovereign claims to these areas remain ``disputed'', 
        not ``occupied''.
            (5) In 1990, Congress unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent 
        Resolution 106, which declares that Congress ``strongly 
        believes that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city in which 
        the rights of every ethnic religious group are protected''.
            (6) In 1995, Congress overwhelmingly approved the Jerusalem 
        Embassy Act (Public Law 104-45), requiring the establishment of 
        the United States Embassy in Jerusalem not later than May 31, 
        1999.
            (7) The United States maintains its embassy in the 
        functioning capital in every country except in the State of 
        Israel.
            (8) Israel has far exceeded the 1907 Hague Regulation as 
        directed by international law. Israel has taken all measures to 
        restore and ensure public order and safety in Jerusalem.
            (9) Jerusalem has been far safer and more protected under 
        Israel's administration than under any previous authorities.
            (10) Civil life is entirely present in Jerusalem, and all 
        government institutions and related frameworks are also 
        present, including the Knesset, the Bank of Israel, the 
        Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister's and 
        President's offices, and the Supreme Court.

SEC. 3. RECOGNITION OF JERUSALEM AS THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL AND 
              RELOCATION OF THE UNITED STATES EMBASSY FROM TEL AVIV TO 
              JERUSALEM.

    (a) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to recognize 
Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel, both de jure 
and de facto.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States should recognize the sovereign status 
        of an undivided Jerusalem as the capital of the State of 
        Israel;
            (2) recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and 
        transferring the United States Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel 
        Aviv will send a signal of United States commitment and resolve 
        to Israel;
            (3) the President and the Secretary of State should 
        publicly affirm as a matter of United States policy that 
        Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of the State of 
        Israel;
            (4) the President should immediately implement the 
        provisions of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 (Public Law 
        104-45), as amended by section 4 of this Act, and begin the 
        process of relocating the United States Embassy in Israel to 
        Jerusalem; and
            (5) United States officials should refrain from any actions 
        that contradict United States law on this subject.
    (c) Identification of Jerusalem on Government Documents.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any official document of 
the United States Government which lists countries and their capital 
cities shall identify Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
    (d) Relocation.--Not later than January 1, 2019, the President 
shall relocate the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO THE JERUSALEM EMBASSY ACT OF 1995.

    (a) Repeal.--Subject to subsection (b) of this section, section 7 
of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 is repealed.
    (b) Effective Date.--The repeal specified in subsection (a) shall 
take effect on January 1, 2018.
    (c) Redesignation.--At the time of the repeal specified in 
subsection (a), section 8 of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 shall be 
redesignated as section 7.

SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.

    Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of State shall submit to Congress a report that--
            (1) details the Department of State's plan to implement 
        this Act;
            (2) includes estimated dates of completion for each phase 
        of the establishment of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem, 
        including--
                    (A) site identification;
                    (B) land acquisition;
                    (C) architectural, engineering, and construction 
                surveys;
                    (D) site preparation; and
                    (E) construction; and
            (3) includes an estimate of the funding needed to implement 
        this Act, including all costs associated with establishing the 
        United States Embassy in Jerusalem.
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