Sponsors (12)
Official title: To prohibit the use of materials that use the term "West Bank", and for other purposes.
Introduced January 31, 2025 by Claudia Tenney · Last progress January 31, 2025
The bill standardizes U.S. terminology in statutes and federal communications to align with certain constituencies and reduce use of a contested term, improving internal consistency for some agencies but risking diplomatic friction, operational constraints for diplomats, administrative costs, and increased domestic polarization.
Federal agencies and federal employees will have a clear, uniform naming instruction for official materials, reducing ambiguity across agency documents and guidance.
State governments and federal diplomats retain the ability to meet treaty and legal obligations because the bill preserves treaty language and gives the Secretary of State authority to permit exceptions when national interests require them.
Taxpayers and federal agencies avoid funding communications that use terminology some lawmakers view as politically sensitive, reducing perception that U.S. funds support contested terminology.
Foreign partners, state governments, immigrants, and U.S. diplomats could face strained diplomatic relations and friction because the bill's terminology change may be perceived as taking a substantive policy stance, complicating negotiations and cooperation.
Federal employees and diplomats will have reduced ability to use widely accepted international terminology, which can hinder clear diplomatic communication and consistency in international engagement despite a limited waiver process.
Federal, state, and local agencies and taxpayers will incur administrative burdens and short-term costs to update maps, briefs, forms, statutory references, and communications, and routine processes may be delayed while compliance or waivers are secured.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Directs U.S. use of the names "Judea and Samaria" instead of "West Bank," prohibits federal funds for materials calling it the "West Bank," and updates statutory wording accordingly.
Requires the U.S. Government to use the historical names “Judea and Samaria” instead of the term “West Bank” in official materials, renames statutory references accordingly, and bars use of federal funds to prepare or publish materials that refer to “Judea and Samaria” as the “West Bank” unless waived by the Secretary of State. It is largely a terminology and directive bill: it issues a Sense of Congress, creates a funding prohibition tied to terminology, and makes non-substantive edits in multiple statutes to replace the phrase “the West Bank” with “Judea and Samaria.”