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takyon writes:

For the first time since President Obama took office in 2009, Congress has overridden his veto.

The U.S. Senate voted 97-1 to override President Obama's veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which would allow victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia. The lone dissenting vote was Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), who has "always had the president's back":

In a letter Monday to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Tex.) and ranking member Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter warned that allowing the bill to become law risked "damaging our close and effective cooperation with other countries" and "could ultimately have a chilling effect on our own counter-terrorism efforts." Thornberry and Smith both circulated letters among members in the last few days, urging them to vote against overriding the veto. CIA Director John O. Brennan also warned of the 9/11 bill's "grave implications for the national security of the United States" in a statement Wednesday.

The House of Representatives voted 348-to-77:

Congress on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to override a veto by President Obama for the first time, passing into law a bill that would allow the families of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for any role in the plot.

Democrats in large numbers joined with Republicans to deliver a remarkable rebuke to the president. The 97-to-1 vote in the Senate and the 348-to-77 vote in the House displayed the enduring power of the Sept. 11 families in Washington and the diminishing influence here of the Saudi government.

See also: The Risks of Suing the Saudis for 9/11 by the New York Times Editorial Board and this article in the Saudi Gazette.

Previously: President Obama to Veto Bill Allowing September 11 Victims to Sue Saudi Arabia

Original Submission

1. "takyon" - https://soylentnews.org/~takyon/
2. "U.S. Senate voted 97-1" - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/09/27/senate-poised-to-vote-to-override-obamas-veto-of-911-bill/
3. "House of Representatives voted 348-to-77" - http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/29/us/politics/senate-votes-to-override-obama-veto-on-9-11-victims-bill.html
4. "The Risks of Suing the Saudis for 9/11" - http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/opinion/the-risks-of-suing-the-saudis-for-9-11.html
5. "this article in the Saudi Gazette" - http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/jasta-dash-trust-us-allies/
6. "President Obama to Veto Bill Allowing September 11 Victims to Sue Saudi Arabia" - https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=16/09/13/0026219
7. "Original Submission" - https://soylentnews.org/submit.pl?op=viewsub&subid=16110

printed from SoylentNews, U.S. Senate and House Override President Obama's 9/11 Bill Veto on 2024-04-24 12:41:59