The president reportedly fears that enacting such a law could potentially lead to the USA being sued in foreign courts itself in the future.
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The bill, which was approved by the House of Representatives last week, passed the Senate in May.
The legislation gives victims’ families the right to sue in US court for any role that elements of the Saudi government may have played in the 2001 attacks that killed almost 3,000 people.
The government of Saudi Arabia, a United States ally but also home nation to 15 of the 19 hijackers, has worked hard to see the bill defeated.
Politico reported that a presidential veto of the bill is “almost guaranteed”, given Obama’s opposition to it.
“That is a myth”.
Current law allows such lawsuits against countries designated by the United States as sponsors of terrorism, such as Iran.
But support for the measure in Congress appears strong enough to achieve what would be the first override of a veto by Obama. But the pages shed no significant new light on Saudi Arabia’s alleged ties to the attack.
A vote of two-thirds in both the House and the Senate would be necessary to override Obama’s promised veto.
Obama did not mention his opposition to the bill, which would let courts waive claims to foreign sovereign immunity in cases involving terrorist attacks on USA soil, during brief remarks to reporters after meeting with congressional leaders.
“When you start eroding sovereign immunity, I think it puts our people at greater danger”, explained House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, who opposed the measure but did not vote against it. “I urge the president to sign this bill into law”.
That is not an effective, forceful way for us to respond to terrorism. That bill has been filibustered by Senate Democrats since June, but negotiators say there has been progress toward a resolution.
The House unanimously passed the legislation on Friday despite the Obama administration’s months-old concerns and efforts to secure language changes.
Such legislation undermines worldwide relations and could affect counterterrorism cooperation between Washington and its Gulf allies, the GCC secretary general Abdullatif Al Zayani said.
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Saudi officials have said enactment of the law could lead them to sell off the kingdom’s U.S. Treasury debt and other American assets, which totaled $750 billion, the officials told U.S. lawmakers and others in the government, according to the New York Times.
