Senate Poised to Override Obama’s Veto of 9/11 Legislation

Local Editor

The Senate is poised to reject US President Barack Obama's veto of a bill that would allow the families of Sept. 11 victims to sue the Saudi regime even as lawmakers express fears the legislation could backfire on the United States.

An override vote is scheduled for Wednesday even as lawmakers and senior US government officials said the legislation could backfire on the United States. A group of senators say that during a post-election, lame-duck session of Congress they'll discuss ways to improve the measure.

The Senate's top Democrat, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, said there are enough votes to override Obama's veto.
"I will bet that Obama's veto will not be sustained," he said.

With congressional elections just over a month away, many lawmakers are reluctant to oppose a measure backed by 9/11 families who say they are still seeking justice nearly 15 years after the attacks killed nearly 3,000 people.

In a last-minute bid to block the bill from becoming law, War Secretary Ash Carter warned the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act [JASTA] could be devastating to the US military.

In the admonition, detailed in a letter to a senior member of Congress and released Tuesday, Carter said he's sympathetic to the intent of the measure. But the legislation could lead to the public disclosure of American secrets and even undercut counterterrorism efforts by sowing mistrust among US partners and allies, according to Carter.

After the Senate votes, the House is expected to follow before lawmakers depart Washington to campaign. If the House also overrides, the bill would become law. During his nearly two full terms in office, Obama had never had a veto overridden by Congress.

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. Fifteen of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudi nationals.

According to the terms of the bill, courts would be permitted to waive a claim of foreign sovereign immunity when an act of terrorism occurs inside US borders. Saudi Arabia has objected vehemently to the legislation.

Last week, Obama vetoed the measure, telling lawmakers the bill would make the US vulnerable to retaliatory litigation in foreign courts that could put US troops in legal jeopardy.

The bill's proponents have disputed Obama's rationale as "unconvincing and unsupportable," saying the measure is narrowly tailored and applies only to acts of terrorism that occur on US soil.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team