Congress: 113 · 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 604.
Sponsor: Heller, Dean (R-NV)
Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act of 2013 - States that it is U.S. policy to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital 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 FY2014-FY2015, 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 U.S. policy recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's undivided capital. It removes the President's ability to waive restrictions on State Department building funds overseas until a U.S. Embassy opens in Jerusalem. All official U.S. documents listing world capitals must identify Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The bill blocks most State Department overseas construction funding in 2013 unless it goes toward a Jerusalem embassy, and requires dedicated funding for that embassy project in 2014–2015.
This legislation attempts to force the federal government to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and codify that city as Israel's sole capital, bypassing executive authority and predating the 2017 Trump administration move by four years. It ties congressional appropriations to a geopolitical outcome contested by Palestinians and the international community, giving Congress a structural lever over executive branch diplomacy.