House passes Sept 11 legislation as Obama veto threat looms
September 09, 2016 23:22
Approval of a bipartisan bill that would allow families of September 11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia puts Congress on a collision course with President Barack Obama on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the attacks.
The House passed the legislation day by voice vote, about four months after the measure cleared the Senate despite vehement objections from Saudi Arabia.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals. The White House has signaled Obama would veto the legislation over the potential for the measure to backfire.
The Obama administration cautions that if US citizens can take the Saudis to court, then a foreign country could in turn sue the United States. There also is apprehension the bill would undermine a longstanding yet strained relationship with a critical US ally in the Middle East.
Votes from two-thirds of the members in the House and Senate would be needed to override a veto.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia, which was preparing for the annual hajj pilgrimage beginning tomorrow.
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 thousands in New York, the Washington, D.C., area and Pennsylvania.
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