[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3547 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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. 
   Flores) 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 Representatives 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 nation 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 diplomatic relations between 
        the two countries.
            (4) The United States maintains a Consulate General in 
        Jerusalem.
            (5) The United States Embassy in Israel remains the only 
        United States Embassy not located in a country's capital city, 
        even though the Jerusalem 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 Relations 
        Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228) 
        urged the President to begin relocating the embassy 
        ``immediately'', every President since 1995 has signed a waiver 
        in the interest of national security to delay the move of the 
        embassy.
            (6) The United States Ambassador has a residence in 
        Herzliya, near Tel Aviv; however, for decades, ambassadors have 
        spent a significant amount of their time in Jerusalem. For 
        convenience and security, 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 organizations 
        working to encourage cooperation between Israelis and 
        Palestinians to bring an end to the conflict.

SEC. 4. PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State is authorized, 
notwithstanding any other provision of law, to establish 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 consulate in Jerusalem, Israel, or 
at a different location in Jerusalem, as the Secretary of State 
determines appropriate.
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