World News! US House votes to allow 9/11 families to sue Saudi...

World News! US House votes to allow 9/11 families to sue Saudi govt

0

The US House of Representatives passed legislation by voice vote on Friday that would permit the families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to sue Saudi Arabia’s authorities for damages, despite the White House’s threat to veto the measure.

The US Senate passed the “Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act,” or JASTA, unanimously in May. Opponents of the bill said it cause retaliatory laws targeting US citizens or corporations in other countries and could strain relations with Saudi Arabia.

The vote’s time was emblematic, passing two days before the 15th anniversary of the hijacked-plane attacks on Washington and New York. Its passage was greeted with applause and cheers in the House chamber.

The White House on Friday reiterated that President Barack Obama would veto the bill. If Obama carries out his veto threat and the necessary two thirds of both Republican-majority Senate and House support the bill, it’d function as the first time since Obama’s presidency began that Congress had overridden a veto.

The House passed the measure without recorded individual votes, which isn’t considered unanimous. That may help it become more easy for Obama’s fellow Democrats to uphold his veto afterwards without officially shifting their positions.