“This is just the latest snub of Saudi Arabia from the US Congress”, Al Jazeera’s White House correspondent Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington, said ahead of Obama’s veto.
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“We are deeply grateful for the unanimous bipartisan support that JASTA has in Congress, and we look forward to the Senate and House fulfilling their commitments by quickly overriding this veto”, they said. And while Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has remained on the sidelines of this family fight, he told reporters earlier this week he expects the votes to be there for overcoming the veto. The bill had sailed through both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support, clearing the final hurdle just days before the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that killed almost 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
President Barack Obama on Friday vetoed a bill that would have allowed the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia.
Mr Obama rejected the Bill on Friday, warning of a host of unintended and severe consequences if it were enacted. “The United States has a larger global presence, by far, than any other country, and sovereign immunity principles protect our nation and its Armed Forces, officials, and assistance professionals, from foreign court proceedings”, he underlined.
“This is a disappointing decision that will be swiftly and soundly overturned in Congress”, he said. If the Saudis are as entirely innocent as they say they are, Quinn adds, “why be afraid of an exploration of the facts?”
9/11 Families & Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism, a group representing the families of victims said in a statement Friday that they are “outraged and dismayed” at the president’s veto and called his reasons “unconvincing and unsupportable”. Both chambers passed the bill by voice vote.
The Saudi government has lobbied heavily to stop the bill, the European Union has formally opposed it and Gulf States have condemned it.
The secretary said the bill, if signed into law, would open up potentially USA service members and U.S. diplomats to being hauled into court under spurious charges or claims in a way that would force the United States to expend significant resources and in some cases diplomatic capital to go and defend them. JASTA would allow families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for that nation’s involvement in supporting the attackers.
In a three-page statement, Obama listed his reasons for vetoing the bill, which he claimed would be “detrimental to US interests” if signed into law. Not long before he did so, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, who had previously backed the measure, confirmed that if she were in the Oval Office, she would sign it. Chuck Schumer, (D-NY), who co-sponsored the bill, is on the record as promising to help override a veto.
A two-thirds majority vote is required in the U.S. house and senate to override a veto. None has been overridden. However, he said JASTA would “neither protect Americans from terrorist attacks nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks”.
“The Senate will consider it as soon as practicable in this work period”, David Popp, a spokesman for McConnell, said in a statement after the veto.
During congressional testimony Thursday, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter remarked that “were another country to behave reciprocally towards the United States”.
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“My primary concern is that this bill increases the risk posed to American military and intelligence personnel, diplomats and others serving our country around the world”, Thornberry wrote in a letter encouraging his fellow Republicans to sustain the veto. The Washington Post reported that Saudi Arabia considerably stepped up lobbying efforts this week as Congress prepared for the veto.
