Congress: 105 · 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 HR 1298.
Sponsor: Lowey, Nita M. (D-NY)
Directs the Secretary of State, for registration of birth, certification of nationality, or issuance of a passport for a U.S. citizen born in the city of Jerusalem, to record the place of birth as Jerusalem, Israel.
This bill requires the State Department to list 'Jerusalem, Israel' as the birthplace on passports and birth certificates for U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem. Currently, the department lists only 'Jerusalem' without a country designation. The bill would change that designation unilaterally.
Jerusalem's political status is one of the core disputes in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. By directing the U.S. government to officially record Jerusalem as part of Israel on federal documents, this bill takes a territorial position on a final-status issue that remains under negotiation. This operationalizes U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the city.