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Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) introduced legislation on Friday to repeal a decades-old provision in U.S. law relating to the construction of new diplomatic facilities in Israel and the West Bank.

The provision, enacted in 1986 as part of a package designed to improve security for U.S. diplomats and combat terrorism, banned funding from that bill from being used for “site acquisition, development, or construction of any facility in Israel, Jerusalem, or the West Bank except for facilities to serve as a chancery or residence within five miles of the Israeli Knesset building and within the boundaries of Israel as they existed before June 1, 1967.”

The language was intended to force the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, according to a report at the time. The Reagan administration opposed the move, resisting efforts to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital ahead of a negotiated agreement between Israelis and Palestinians about Jerusalem’s final status.

Congress later passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act in 1995, mandating the relocation of the embassy and recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, though it was waived by successive presidents until President Donald Trump made the move in 2017. Republicans repeatedly accused President Joe Biden of seeking to undo that move or reopen the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem that primarily served Palestinians.

Lawler’s bill, the Keeping Official Territories Eligible for Land-use (KOTEL) Act, named for the Jewish holy site, would repeal the language from the 1986 bill.

“Israel is one of America’s closest allies, and this 40-year-old inactive prohibition serves no purpose. The KOTEL Act removes these outdated restrictions so we can continue to ensure the bond between the U.S. and Israel remains ironclad,” Lawler said in a statement.

It’s not clear how much impact Lawler’s initiative would have on current efforts to acquire or build new diplomatic facilities — the funding to which the 1986 provision applies has expired. But it could head off future attempts to challenge such construction.

Lawler plans to introduce the bill for consideration as part of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s upcoming, wide-ranging State Department reauthorization effort.