[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 291 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 291

Urging the expedient relocation of the United States Embassy in Israel 
                             to Jerusalem.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 1, 2011

 Mr. Lamborn submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Urging the expedient relocation of the United States Embassy in Israel 
                             to Jerusalem.

Whereas each and every sovereign country, under international custom, may 
        designate its own capital;
Whereas Jerusalem, the capital of Israel since 1950, has never been the capital 
        of any other modern state;
Whereas Jerusalem has been united under Israel's governance since 1967, with 
        guaranteed and full access to holy sites for persons of all faiths;
Whereas since its independence in 1948, the State of Israel has been a strategic 
        ally and close friend of the United States;
Whereas the United States maintains its embassy in the functioning capital of 
        every country in the world in which the United States maintains full 
        diplomatic relations, except in the case of the State of Israel, 
        although the United States conducts official business in the city of 
        Jerusalem;
Whereas no other country in the world presently maintains its embassy in Israel 
        in the city of Jerusalem;
Whereas the United States, as a global leader, can set a courageous and needed 
        example for other countries by moving its embassy in Israel to the city 
        of Jerusalem;
Whereas for almost two decades, the Congress of the United States has repeatedly 
        and overwhelmingly adopted multiple resolutions affirming its commitment 
        to Jerusalem's continued status as a unified, undivided city;
Whereas the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-45; 109 Stat. 398) 
        requires that the United States Embassy in Israel be established in 
        Jerusalem by not later than May 31, 1999;
Whereas such Act restricted the allocation of funds in past fiscal years for the 
        acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad until the Secretary of 
        State determines and reports to Congress that the United States Embassy 
        in Jerusalem has officially opened, and authorized not less than 
        $100,000,000 for construction and other costs associated with the 
        establishment of the United States Embassy in Israel in the capital of 
        Jerusalem;
Whereas the President has continually suspended section 3 of the Jerusalem 
        Embassy Act of 1995, allowing the President to suspend the requirement 
        that the United States Embassy in Israel be established in Jerusalem if 
        the suspension is necessary to protect the national security interests 
        of the United States, biannually since the enactment of the Jerusalem 
        Embassy Act of 1995;
Whereas official United States documents and Web sites refer to Jerusalem as the 
        capital of the State of Israel; and
Whereas the Department of State has allocated or expended funds for costs 
        related to the physical plant of the United States Embassy in Israel, 
        which is located in Tel Aviv, as well as the United States Consulate in 
        Jerusalem: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms that Jerusalem is and should continue to be 
        the undivided capital of the State of Israel;
            (2) calls upon the President of the United States to fully 
        implement the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-45; 
        109 Stat. 398) and immediately begin to relocate the United 
        States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem;
            (3) encourages the President of the United States to urge 
        governments of other countries to immediately and 
        unconditionally recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish 
        state and to recognize the status of Jerusalem as the undivided 
        capital of Israel; and
            (4) urges the Department of State to allocate and expend no 
        funding for the physical plant of the United States Embassy in 
        Israel, which is located in Tel Aviv, as well as the United 
        States Consulate in Jerusalem, until and unless the Department 
        of State allocates and expends a proportionate amount of funds 
        for the construction of and other costs related to the United 
        States Embassy in Jerusalem.
                                 <all>