{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcsally.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/us-rep-mcsally-applauds-president-s-decision-recognize-jerusalem-israel", "U.S. Rep. McSally Applauds Presidents Decision to Recognize Jerusalem as Israels Capital", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "Martha McSally", "M001197", "mcsally.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC\u2014U.S. Representative Martha McSally today commended the President on his decision to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.\n\u201cBy relocating our embassy to Jerusalem, President Trump is doing what our country should have done two decades ago: fulfill our promise to our ally and formally recognize the Jewish State of Israel\u2019s undivided capital,\u201d said Rep. McSally. \u201cJerusalem is our ally\u2019s capital, so that\u2019s where our embassy should be. I applaud the President\u2019s decision, which sends a strong and clear message to the international community that we are beginning a new chapter in our alliance, one in which America keeps our promises towards Israel and doesn\u2019t waffle about where our true allegiance lies. The era of reneged commitments is finally over.\u201d\nIn 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, a law requiring America to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem or provide an explanation every six months outlining why doing so is not in the national security interests of the US. Since then, every president has exercised this waiver, citing national security interests.\nRep. McSally is a cosponsor of legislation introduced by her Arizona colleague, Congressman Franks, that would not only require the U.S. to relocate the embassy by 2019 but also to recognize the sovereign status of an undivided Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and eliminate executive authority to waive funding limitations until the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened.\nSince day one in Congress, McSally has worked to strengthen U.S. support for Israel. Not only has she personally visited Israel to hear first-hand from top Israeli and Palestinian officials about the region\u2019s most pressing national security issues, \u00a0she also introduced a resolution expressing solidarity with the Israeli people, authored legislation\u00a0to prevent the discrimination of Israeli-produced goods, and advocated for increased missile defense spending for Israel throughout the national defense authorization process\u2014including the Iron Dome weapons system. Her state and district play a vital role in the alliance. David\u2019s Sling, a missile defense system that is a major technology upgrade for the small country was co-developed by Israel\u2019s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and American defense contractor, Raytheon, which is located Tucson, Arizona.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mcsally.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/us-rep-mcsally-applauds-president-s-decision-recognize-jerusalem-israel"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6374181248247623, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}