Days before the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the House has thrown its support behind the families of its victims..
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The documents released claim Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national who helped two of the hijackers in San Diego, Calif., was suspected of being a Saudi intelligence officer.
If it becomes law, it would give 9/11 victims’ families the right to sue Saudi Arabia for any alleged role it may have had in the attacks on the World Trade Center in NY and the Pentagon in Washington.
The bill, which the Senate passed unanimously in May, now goes to the desk of President Barack Obama, whose spokesman in May said he couldn’t imagine him signing it because he has concerns about other countries retaliating by suing the United States.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that President Obama was likely to still veto the bill, no matter how popular it has been in Congress, CNN reports.
The bill needs two-thirds of the votes in both the House and the Senate to override a presidential veto.
Families of the September 11 victims have used the courts to try to hold members of the Saudi royal family, Saudi banks and charities liable because of what the plaintiffs charged was Saudi financial support for terrorism.
“Today’s vote sends an unmistakable message that we should combat terrorism with every tool we have, and that the families of those lost in attacks like that on September 11th should have every means at their disposal to seek justice”, said the senator. Because Saudi Arabia is a major contributor of oil to the United States. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia, which was preparing for the annual haj pilgrimage beginning Saturday.
Victims’ families who have long implored Congress to pass the bill are now planning to mark the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center towers and damaged the Pentagon by pressuring lawmakers to stick around Washington until they see this bill through. Democrat Jerrold Nadler is pictured left with the red tie.
Israel added, “I urge the president not to veto this bill”.
“I know that the advocates of this legislation have suggested that they have taken into account our concerns by more narrowly tailoring the legislation”, Earnest said.
“It may trigger similar acts all over the place, and then you enter into a “state of jungle” where everybody sues everybody”, Lellouche, who runs a parliamentary committee on global law, told reporters on a conference call on Friday.
“If we’re not funding terrorist organizations and killing people, then we don’t have anything to worry about”, she said.
The vote’s timing was symbolic, passing two days before the 15th anniversary of the hijacked-plane attacks on NY and Washington.
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Members of Congress bowing their heads during a 9/11 Remembrance on the East Steps of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, back in 2013.
