Sponsors (12)
The bill standardizes U.S. government usage to 'Judea and Samaria,' which clarifies domestic legal and administrative language and placates some Israeli constituencies but risks undermining perceived U.S. neutrality, provoking diplomatic friction, and imposing implementation costs on government bodies and taxpayers.
Federal employees, state/local governments, and legal actors will use a single statutory term—'Judea and Samaria' replacing 'the West Bank'—reducing ambiguity in statutes, official guidance, and some diplomatic communications.
U.S. usage of terminology preferred by some Israeli stakeholders will reduce friction with those constituencies and simplify communications with officials and groups who already use that nomenclature.
The legislation preserves exceptions for treaty and other international obligations, allowing agencies to continue required official usages where legally necessary.
International partners, Palestinians, and many foreign governments may view adoption of the contested term as abandoning U.S. neutrality, risking diplomatic friction, complicating peace negotiations, and provoking retaliatory or adverse diplomatic responses.
Federal agencies, state and local governments, and taxpayers will face administrative burdens and implementation costs from revising policies, translations, forms, and from processing waiver determinations and required congressional explanations.
People and audiences accustomed to the term 'West Bank' (including many allies and international organizations) may be confused or provoked, increasing diplomatic friction and risking inconsistent messaging across agencies; the change could also invite legal challenges alleging compelled speech or politicization of official language.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Introduced January 31, 2025 by Claudia Tenney · Last progress January 31, 2025
Requires the U.S. government to stop using the term “West Bank” in official materials and instead use the historical names “Judea and Samaria.” It includes a nonbinding statement of congressional opinion encouraging the change, bars federal funds from preparing materials that use “West Bank” (with an exception for treaty obligations), allows the Secretary of State to waive the ban for U.S. interests with a 30-day explanation to Congress, and makes conforming text changes in several federal statutes to replace “West Bank” with “Judea and Samaria.”