Obama Unites Congressional Democrats, Republicans, in Overriding Veto Damaging 9/11 Families

September 29, 2016

2 min read

The House of Representatives joined the Senate on Wednesday in overriding President Barack Obama’s veto on a law permitting the families of 9/11 attack victims to sue Saudi Arabia should it turn out that the Kingdom was involved in carrying out those attacks.

Congressional Democrats clamored to support the veto override, signaling to their voters that they are not captives of the White House on this and other issues. Congressman Jerry Nadler, a Manhattan Democrat whose 10th Congressional District actually includes Ground Zero, was adamant in attacking the president’s arguments.

“Despite the overblown rhetoric of some critics of this bill, JASTA (Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act) will not pose a threat to American military personnel or diplomats,” Nadler told the House.

The Obama Administration had warned that if the bill were passed, foreign governments might then threaten to pass legislation that could affect the sovereign immunity of the United States and U.S. officials abroad.

Nadler said, “They would be absolutely protected if another country passed legislation mirroring this bill because JASTA applies only to governments. To the extent that a foreign government might pass broader legislation that would make American personnel subject to liability, that country would not be reciprocating. It would be engaging in a transparent and unjustifiable act of aggression.”

Nadler also noted that, despite Obama’s fears, “the economic, diplomatic, and military strength of the United States makes such action unlikely, and any rogue state inclined to target US interests can already do so. We must not hold justice for the 9/11 families hostage to imagined fears.”

Over at the Senate, Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) cast the only vote in favor of Obama’s veto. No Democrat argued in favor of the veto before the vote. The Senate voted 97-1 Wednesday to override the veto.

The White House was irate, and spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One following the Senate override, “I would venture to say that this is the single most embarrassing thing that the United States Senate has done, possibly, since 1983.”

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