Congress: 104 · Status: active · Israel/Palestine classification: pro-Israel
Data (JSON) — machine-readable record of this bill (identifiers, sponsor, classification, actions, and the member-by-member vote breakdown).
Official record on Congress.gov — full text, actions, and cosponsor history for S 1323.
Sponsor: Dole, Robert J. (R-KS)
Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Implementation Act of 1995 - Declares it to be U.S. policy that: (1) Jerusalem remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic religious group are protected; (2) Jerusalem be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and (3) the U.S. Embassy in Israel be relocated to Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999. States that not more than 50 percent of the funds appropriated for FY 1999 to the Department of State for "Acquisition and Maintenance of Buildings Abroad" may be obligated in the fiscal year until the Secretary of State determines, and reports to the Congress, that the Embassy has opened. Makes specified amounts of such funds available until expended in certain fiscal years only for construction and other costs associated with relocating the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. Requires the Secretary of State to report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on: (1) the Department of State's plan to implement this Act; and (2) progress made toward opening the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
Declares it U.S. policy that Jerusalem is Israel's capital and an undivided city. Requires the U.S. Embassy to relocate from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by May 31, 1999. Appropriates funds for embassy construction there, conditioning 50 percent of State Department building funds for 1999 on the embassy's opening.
This codifies congressional recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and mandates embassy relocation, a major symbolic and diplomatic step that elevates U.S.-Israel alignment on a contested issue central to Israeli-Palestinian final status negotiations. The classification reflects the bill's explicit policy statements and funding mechanism favoring this outcome.