The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to allow 9/11 victims’ families sue Saudi Arabia for damages. The ease with which it cleared the House, combined with the bill’s unanimous passage in the Senate in May, suggests that a presidential veto would likely be overturned.
Advertisement
During House floor arguments, Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) said the families of the victims have been waiting “15 years for justice” and should be placed before “diplomatic niceties”.
“This bill passed overwhelmingly in the U.S. Senate so I think that those concerns have been taken under consideration and members are acting accordingly and that’s why this bill will pass”, Ryan said.
Saudi Arabia has long denied such allegations and campaigned hard against the bill – but supporters shrugged off that pressure, arguing that if Saudis had done nothing wrong, they had nothing to worry about.
Under current law, victims of terrorism can only sue countries officially designated by the State Department as sponsors of terrorism, such as Iran and Syria.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, a co-sponsor of the bill, told reporters in May that he is confident that if the bill is vetoed the Senate would be able to override it because they do not believe the arguments the White House is making stand up. The measure passed without objection or opposition, but the White House is threatening a veto. Because the USA and Saudi are now in talks about the war on ISIS.
US House votes to allow 9/11 families to sue Saudi govt was posted in World of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on September 10, 2016 and was last updated on September 10, 2016.
NY courts routinely dismiss claims filed by families of 9/11 victims against Saudi Arabia for allegedly helping to finance the terrorist attacks. The administration says it’s concerned about threats of economic retaliation from Saudi Arabia and the possibility other countries could change their own immunity laws in a way that would hurt American interests.
The bill’s proponents disputed the argument that there will be a boomerang effect if the measure is signed into law. This summer, 28 pages of previously classified material from a congressional investigation into the 9/11 attacks concerning suspected connections between Saudi Arabian officials and the hijackers who carried out the attacks were released.
In April, it was reported that Saudi Arabia had warned the United States that it would hit back economically at Washington if the bill proceeded. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., led a moment of silence on the Capitol steps, and lawmakers sang “God Bless America” in remembrance of 9/11, when lawmakers gathered in the same location to sing the song immediately after the attacks on NY and Washington.
Advertisement
House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, refuted that the bill interfered with the sovereign immunity of other countries, and said global acts of terrorism deserve to be exceptions in terms of legal liability.
