The bill, which the Senate passed in May, narrows the scope of foreign sovereign immunity by authorizing federal courts to hear criminal and civil cases against a foreign state or official suspected to have been involved in an act of worldwide terrorism and to impose liability when applicable.
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A White House veto can be overridden with votes from at least two-thirds of House and Senate members. “So the president feels quite strongly about this, and our concern is not limited to the impact it would have with our relationship with one country”.
During the White House press briefing with reporters, Earnest reiterated the president’s concerns about upsetting ties with top Middle East ally Saudi Arabia, where numerous 9/11 hijackers were from.
The Saudi-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has condemned a law passed by the U.S. that would allow families of victims of the September 11 attacks to sue the kingdom’s government for damages. The bill would revise immunity laws now sheltering Saudis from American lawsuits in USA courts, making it possible for the families to finally get justice, and its passage comes right around the 15th anniversary of the attacks.
During a press conference in New Haven Connecticut on Monday, victims of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 made a plea to President Obama.
But the White House has long argued there are bigger issues at play than the pending victims’ families lawsuit.
Last May, after visiting Saudi Arabia, Speaker Paul D. Ryan warned that Congress ought to make sure “we’re not making mistakes with our allies”. The release of the so-called “28 pages” from the congressional investigation of September 11 disappointed those certain it contained proof of Saudi involvement. But the pages shed no significant new light on Saudi Arabia’s alleged ties to the attack.
The act has raised major concerns among U.S. allies in the Gulf States. The bill would allow citizens to sue countries without that designation, like Saudi Arabia. Congressional leaders called the legislation a “moral imperative”.
“That was a concern we have expressed to members of Congress in both parties, ” he said. But he acknowledged that Obama’s stance could anger the families of Americans who perished in the terrorist attacks 15 years ago. “If the White House actually vetoes this I think there will be whole levels of discussion”. A veto by President Obama is therefore not a slight to the 9/11 victims and their families. Later U.S. investigations into the attacks were unable to substantiate the allegations.
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. That effort has been complicated by Republican Party infighting. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Cornyn is the deputy GOP leader and Schumer is expected to become the Democratic leader in January.
Earnest said the meeting represents a chance “to discuss rather long list of priorities Congress needs to address”. The Senate had approved the measure in May.
On Friday, the House of Representatives passed the bill by voice vote.
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Analysts believe that Obama relies on the support of democrats especially that some of them had already voted for the bill for electoral purposes.
