Two pro-Israel perennials were reintroduced in the new Congress: a bill seeking to force the president to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem and one that would waive visa requirements for visiting Israelis. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) introduced the Jerusalem bill on Jan. 3, the first day of the 113th Congress. It differs from the 1995 bill that overwhelmingly passed Congress in that it removes a presidential waiver invoked every six months to prevent moving the embassy as a matter of national security. It also …More

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and congressmen has requested $2 million in appropriations for the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Program in the 2013 federal budget. The 44 signatories to the effort included 34 congressmen and 10 senators, the highest number since the program was created in 2008. The appropriations request was led by Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Robert Dold (R-Ill.) and Aaron Schock (R-Ill.), along with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Ron …More

Three U.S. senators urged the body's appropriators to maintain funding for a cooperative agreement with Israel that develops energy alternatives. "We understand that you are facing a difficult budget environment, which forces you to make difficult choices," Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) wrote in the letter sent Wednesday to the top Democrat and Republican on the Appropriations Committee energy subcommittee. "We believe that this is an investment worth maintaining -- …More