In October 2000, President Clinton vetoed the FY2000
Commerce-Justice-State spending bill, commenting in his veto message on
the two "Jerusalem provisions" in the bill. Inserted by Sen.
Ernest Hollings [D-SC], the provisions required that official U.S.
government documents refer to Jerusalem as Israel's capital and required the U.S. Consulate in
Jerusalem to report to the Embassy in Tel Aviv, rather than directly to the
State Department in Washington.
President Clinton wrote that the
"bill includes a number of provisions regarding the conduct of foreign
affairs that raise serious constitutional concerns. Provisions concerning
Jerusalem are objectionable on constitutional, foreign policy, and
operational grounds. The actions called for by these provisions would
prejudice the outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian
permanent status negotiations, which have recently begun and which the
parties are committed to concluding within a year."