I 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. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Recognition of Jeru- 5 salem as the Capital of the State of Israel Act''. 6 7 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) For more than 3,000 years, the Jewish people have maintained a continuous connection and 8 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Jan 12, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H257.IH H257 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS 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''. 24 25 ·HR 257 IH VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Jan 12, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H257.IH H257 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 (6) In 1995, Congress overwhelmingly approved the Jerusalem Embassy Act (Public Law 104­45), 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. rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS ·HR 257 IH VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Jan 12, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H257.IH H257 4 1 2 3 4 5 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 6 recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State 7 of Israel, both de jure and de facto. 8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.--It is the sense of Con- 9 gress that-- 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS (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 104­45), as amended by section 4 of this Act, and begin the process of relocating the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem; and 24 25 ·HR 257 IH VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Jan 12, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H257.IH H257 5 1 2 3 4 5 (5) United States officials should refrain from any actions that contradict United States law on this subject. (c) IDENTIFICATION MENT OF JERUSALEM ON GOVERN- DOCUMENTS.--Notwithstanding any other provi- 6 sion of law, any official document of the United States 7 Government which lists countries and their capital cities 8 shall identify Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. 9 (d) RELOCATION.--Not later than January 1, 2019, 10 the President shall relocate the United States Embassy 11 in Israel to Jerusalem. 12 13 14 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO THE JERUSALEM EMBASSY ACT OF 1995. (a) REPEAL.--Subject to subsection (b) of this sec- 15 tion, section 7 of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 is 16 repealed. 17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.--The repeal specified in sub- 18 section (a) shall take effect on January 1, 2018. 19 (c) REDESIGNATION.--At the time of the repeal spec- 20 ified in subsection (a), section 8 of the Jerusalem Em21 bassy Act of 1995 shall be redesignated as section 7. 22 23 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION REPORT. Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact- 24 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 25 Congress a report that-- ·HR 257 IH VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Jan 12, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H257.IH H257 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 (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. Æ rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS ·HR 257 IH VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Jan 12, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H257.IH H257