S. 11: Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act

115th Congress · introduced 2017-01-03 · International Affairs · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-01-03 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act

Plain summary

Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act This bill states that it should be U.S. policy to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Jerusalem must remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected as they have been by Israel, (2) every Israeli citizen should have the right to reside anywhere in Jerusalem, (3) the President and the Department of State should affirm as a matter of U.S. policy that Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of Israel, (4) the President should implement the provisions of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and begin the process of relocating the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, (5) U.S. officials should refrain from actions that contradict U.S. law on this subject, and (6) any official U.S. government document that lists countries and their capital cities should identify Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 is amended to eliminate the President's authority to waive certain funding limitations for State Department acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad until the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened. The bill: (1) prohibits more than 50% of the amounts appropriated to the State Department for FY2017 for embassy security, construction, and maintenance from being obligated until the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened; and (2) restricts the availability and expenditure of amounts authorized for such purpose for FY 2018 and FY2019 to construction and other costs associated with the establishment of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV] · 8 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ron Johnson (R-WI)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (6)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Fiscal year: The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.
Obligation: A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115s11.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/s>

Record fed-us-cong115-s11 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115