The US House of Representatives passed legislation by voice vote on Friday that would allow the families of victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks to sue Saudi Arabia’s government for damages, despite the White House’s threat to veto the measure.
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The bill, which passed the Senate unanimously in May, now heads to President Barack Obama’s desk. He has expressed opposition to the legislation, arguing it would strain diplomatic relations with the country.
The bill itself is a bipartisan effort, spearheaded by Senators Chuck Schumer of NY, the number two ranking Democrat in the upper chamber, and John Cornyn of Texas, the third ranking Republican.
“I’m pleased the House has taken this huge step forward towards justice for the families of the victims of 9/11”, he said Friday after the House passed its bill.
Still, as Reuters reported this week, “Obama’s administration has offered Saudi Arabia more than $115 billion in weapons, other military equipment and training, the most of any U.S. administration in the 71-year U.S. -Saudi alliance”. Its passage was greeted with applause and cheers in the House chamber.
The House passed the measure without recorded individual votes, which isn’t considered unanimous.
The bill needs two-thirds of the votes in both the House and the Senate to override a presidential veto. Though it is believed some Democrats won’t challenge the president, and will thus switch sides on the veto override vote, there are strong indications that there may still be enough left to override the veto. Poe said he doesn’t know if the Saudi government had a role in the attacks that killed more than 3,000 people.
If US citizens can sue foreign governments, he has said, then other countries will pass laws allowing their citizens to sue the US government. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia, which was preparing for the annual haj pilgrimage beginning Saturday.
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While there was already substantial support for the bill in Congress, there was also momentum gained in July with the release of the classified “28 pages” of the 9/11 Report, which centered on Saudi government involvement in the attack. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Chuck Schumer, D-New York.
