Congress: 112 · 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 1622.
Sponsor: Heller, Dean (R-NV)
Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act of 2011 - States that it is U.S. policy to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel. Amends the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 to eliminate the President's authority to waive certain funding limitations for Department of State acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad until the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened. Requires any official U.S. document which lists countries and their capital cities to identify Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Limits appropriations that may be obligated in FY2013 for Department acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad until the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened. States that for each of FY2012-FY2013, of funds authorized to be appropriated for Department acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad, necessary sums should be made available until expended only for construction and other costs associated with the establishment in Jerusalem of the U.S. Embassy in Israel.
This bill declares it U.S. policy to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's undivided capital and requires that all official U.S. documents list Jerusalem as such. It removes the President's power to waive funding restrictions and redirects money for State Department building projects abroad toward constructing a U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, blocking other overseas facility spending until that embassy opens.
The bill ties federal funding for U.S. diplomatic infrastructure worldwide to opening an embassy in Jerusalem, effectively using appropriations as leverage to force a specific foreign policy outcome on a city whose final status remains contested under international law and Palestinian claims. This represents Congress attempting to override executive branch discretion on a sensitive diplomatic issue.