Congress on Friday approved a bill that would allow the victims of 9/11 to sue the government of Saudi Arabia – putting lawmakers on a collision course with the White House.

The House passed the legislation by voice vote on Friday, months after the Senate OK'd the measure back in May. The bill heads soon to President Obama's desk, testing whether the White House will follow through on warnings that the president could veto.

The administration for months has argued the legislation could harm the country’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and put U.S. officials stationed overseas in jeopardy.

But Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said the U.S. government should be more concerned about the families of the victims than "diplomatic niceties."

The bill would give victims’ families the right to sue in U.S. court for any role that elements of the Saudi government may have played in the 2001 attacks that killed thousands of Americans in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Poe said he doesn't know if the Saudi government had a role in the attacks.

"That's for a jury of Americans to decide," he said.

The vote was held ahead of the 15th anniversary of the terror attacks. Following Friday’s vote, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., one of the authors of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, said he was “pleased” the House had “taken this huge step forward towards justice” and said he hoped the Obama administration would not veto the bill.

“There are always diplomatic considerations that get in the way of justice, but if a court proves the Saudis were complicit in 9/11, they should be held accountable,” Schumer said in a written statement. “If they’ve done nothing wrong, they have nothing to worry about.”

Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, has voiced strong objections to the legislation.

The White House also has cautioned that if the door is opened for U.S. citizens to take the Saudis to court, then a foreign country could in turn sue the United States.

Votes from two-thirds of the members in the House and Senate would be needed to override a veto.

Friday’s House vote comes two months after Congress released 28 declassified pages from a congressional report into 9/11 that reignited speculation over links at least a few of the attackers had to Saudis, including government officials. The allegations were never substantiated by later U.S. investigations into the terrorist attacks.

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

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act had triggered a threat from Riyadh to pull billions of dollars from the U.S. economy if the legislation is enacted. But Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir denied in May that the kingdom made any threats over the bill. He said Riyadh had warned that investor confidence in the U.S. would shrink if the bill became law.

"In fact what they (Congress) are doing is stripping the principle of sovereign immunities, which would turn the world for international law into the law of the jungle," Al-Jubeir said.

Right before Friday’s vote, House members from both parties briefly adjourned to commemorate the anniversary of the attacks. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., led a moment of silence on the Capitol steps, and lawmakers sang "God Bless America" in remembrance of 9/11, when lawmakers gathered in the same location to sing the song immediately after the attacks on New York and Washington.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>WASHINGTON — Approval of a bipartisan bill that would allow families of Sept. 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 Friday 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 Saturday.

The legislation gives victims’ families the right to sue in U.S. 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.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said the U.S. government should be more concerned about the families of the victims than “diplomatic niceties.” Poe said he doesn’t know if the Saudi government had a role in the attacks that killed more than 3,000 people.

“That’s for a jury of Americans to decide,” Poe said.

The vote came after House members from both parties briefly adjourned to commemorate the anniversary of the attacks. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., led a moment of silence on the Capitol steps, and lawmakers sang “God Bless America” in remembrance of 9/11, when lawmakers gathered in the same location to sing the song immediately after the attacks on New York and Washington.

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act had triggered a threat from Riyadh to pull billions of dollars from the U.S. economy if the legislation is enacted. But Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir denied in May that the kingdom made any threats over the bill. He said Riyadh had warned that investor confidence in the U.S. would shrink if the bill became law.

“In fact what they (Congress) are doing is stripping the principle of sovereign immunities, which would turn the world for international law into the law of the jungle,” Al-Jubeir said.

The House vote came two months after Congress released 28 declassified pages from a congressional report into 9/11 that reignited speculation over links at least a few of the attackers had to Saudis, including government officials. The allegations were never substantiated by later U.S. investigations into the terrorist attacks.

Brian McGlinchey, director of advocacy website 28pages.org, said making the documents public “strengthened the resolve of 9/11 families and other advocates of justice to bring about the enactment” of the bill.

A decision by Obama to veto legislation “that would give 9/11 families their well-deserved day in court would truly stain his legacy,” McGlinchey said.

In a separate development, a bipartisan group of senators announced Thursday that they’ve introduced a joint resolution of disapproval to block the Obama administration’s proposed sale of more than $1 billion worth of U.S. weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., cited Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record and the kingdom’s role in Yemen’s civil war.

The war is pitting Yemen’s internationally recognized government and a Saudi-led coalition against the Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who are allied with army units loyal to a former president. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes in Yemen since March 2015.

“Selling $1.15 billion in tanks, guns, ammunition, and more to a country with a poor human rights record embroiled in a bitter war is a recipe for disaster and an escalation of an ongoing arms race in the region,” Paul said.</s>Congress sent President Barack Obama a bipartisan bill that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, putting lawmakers on a collision course with the White House on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the attacks.

The House passed the legislation Friday 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 legislation gives victims’ families the right to sue in U.S. 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.

The White House has signaled Obama would veto the legislation over the potential for it to backfire and apprehension about undermining a longstanding yet strained relationship with a critical U.S. ally in the Middle East. The Obama administration has warned that if U.S. citizens can take the Saudis to court, then a foreign country could in turn sue the United States.

Votes from two-thirds of the members in the House and Senate would be needed to override a veto.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said the U.S. government should be more concerned about the families of the victims than “diplomatic niceties.” Poe said he doesn’t know if the Saudi government had a role in the Sept. 11 attacks.

“That’s for a jury of Americans to decide,” Poe said.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia. The timing of the vote could be seen as an additional slap at the kingdom, which was preparing for the annual hajj pilgrimage beginning Saturday. But a sponsor of the bill, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said lawmakers were focused only on the symbolism of bringing the bill to the floor as close to the 15th anniversary as possible.

The bill’s proponents disputed the argument that there will be a boomerang effect if the measure is signed into law. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., another sponsor, said foreign governments cannot look the other way if terrorist activities are being plotted or launched from their countries.

Terry Strada, national head of 9/11 Families United For Justice Against Terrorism, dismissed fears the U.S. could be the target of lawsuits.

“If we’re not funding terrorist organizations and killing people, then we don’t have anything to worry about,” she said.

The vote came after House members from both parties briefly adjourned to commemorate the anniversary of the attacks. House Speaker Paul Ryan led a moment of silence on the Capitol steps, and lawmakers sang “God Bless America” in remembrance of 9/11, when lawmakers gathered in the same location to sing the song immediately after the attacks on New York and Washington.

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act had triggered a threat from Riyadh to pull billions of dollars from the U.S. economy if the legislation is enacted. But Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir denied in May that the kingdom made any threats over the bill. He said Riyadh had warned that investor confidence in the U.S. would shrink if the bill became law.

“In fact what they (Congress) are doing is stripping the principle of sovereign immunities, which would turn the world for international law into the law of the jungle,” Al-Jubeir said.

The House vote came two months after Congress released 28 declassified pages from a congressional report into 9/11 that reignited speculation over links at least a few of the attackers had to Saudis, including government officials. The allegations were never substantiated by later U.S. investigations into the terrorist attacks.

Brian McGlinchey, director of advocacy website 28pages.org, said making the documents public “strengthened the resolve of 9/11 families and other advocates of justice to bring about the enactment” of the bill.

A decision by Obama to veto legislation “that would give 9/11 families their well-deserved day in court would truly stain his legacy,” McGlinchey said.

In a separate development, a bipartisan group of senators are seeking to block the Obama administration’s proposed sale of more than $1 billion worth of U.S. weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., cited Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record and the kingdom’s role in Yemen’s civil war.

The war is pitting Yemen’s internationally recognised government and a Saudi-led coalition against the Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who are allied with army units loyal to a former president. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes in Yemen since March 2015.</s>WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday reiterated that President Barack Obama would veto a bill that would allow the families of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia's government for damages.

The House of Representatives was expected to vote on the bill on Friday. The Senate passed it unanimously in May.

"We are in the same place we were the last time," the White House official said on Friday. Both Obama and a White House spokesman said in April the president would veto the bill. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner and Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Bernadette Baum)</s>U.S. House votes to allow Sept. 11 families to sue Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation by voice vote on Friday that would allow the families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to sue Saudi Arabia's government for damages, despite the White House's threat to veto the measure.

The U.S. Senate passed the "Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act," or JASTA, unanimously in May. Opponents of the bill said it could strain relations with Saudi Arabia and lead to retaliatory laws targeting U.S. citizens or corporations in other countries.

The vote's timing was symbolic, passing two days before the 15th anniversary of the hijacked-plane attacks on New York and Washington. Its passage was greeted with cheers and applause 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 required two-thirds of both the Republican-majority House and Senate still support the bill, it would be the first time since Obama's presidency began in 2009 that Congress had overridden a veto.

The House passed the measure by voice, without recorded individual votes, which is not technically considered unanimous. That could make it easier for Obama's fellow Democrats to uphold his veto later without officially changing their positions. (Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner and Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Grant McCool)</s>WASHINGTON — Congress sent President Barack Obama a bipartisan bill that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, putting lawmakers on a collision course with the White House on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the attacks.

The House passed the legislation Friday by a 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 legislation gives victims' families the right to sue in U.S. 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.

The White House has signaled Obama would veto the legislation over the potential for it to backfire and apprehension about undermining a longstanding yet strained relationship with a critical U.S. ally in the Middle East. The Obama administration has warned that if U.S. citizens can take the Saudis to court, then a foreign country could in turn sue the United States.

Votes from two-thirds of the members in the House and Senate would be needed to override a veto.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said the U.S. government should be more concerned about the families of the victims than "diplomatic niceties." Poe said he doesn't know if the Saudi government had a role in the Sept. 11 attacks.

"That's for a jury of Americans to decide," Poe said.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.</s>US House allows 9/11 victims to sue Saudi, bill heads to Obama

The House of Representatives passed legislation Friday that would allow victims of the 9/11 attacks and their relatives sue foreign governments suspected of backing acts of terrorism against the United States.

The bill -- approved in the House by a voice vote some four months after its Senate passage -- is strongly opposed by the government of Saudi Arabia, the home nation of 15 of the 19 hijackers in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

It now heads to President Barack Obama's desk, just days before the 15th anniversary of the attacks. The White House has signaled its opposition to the measure.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi join members of the House of Representatives on the steps of the US Capitol for a ceremony marking the anniversary of the September 11th attacks ©Win McNamee (Getty/AFP)</s>WASHINGTON -- Congress sent President Barack Obama a bipartisan bill that would allow families of Sept. 11, 2001, victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, putting lawmakers on a collision course with the White House on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the attacks.

The House passed the legislation Friday 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 legislation gives victims' families the right to sue in U.S. 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. The measure was never debated on the House or Senate floors.

The White House has signaled that Obama would veto the legislation over the potential for it to backfire and apprehension about undermining a long-standing yet strained relationship with a critical U.S. ally in the Middle East. The Obama administration has warned that if U.S. citizens can take the Saudis to court, then a foreign country could in turn sue the United States.

Votes from two-thirds of the members in the House and Senate would be needed to override a veto.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said the U.S. government should be more concerned about the families of the victims than "diplomatic niceties." Poe said he doesn't know whether the Saudi government had a role in the 9/11 attacks.

"That's for a jury of Americans to decide," Poe said.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia. The timing of the vote could be seen as an additional slap at the kingdom, which was preparing for the annual hajj pilgrimage beginning today. But a sponsor of the bill, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said lawmakers were focused only on the symbolism of bringing the bill to the floor as close to the 15th anniversary as possible.

"The families have been asking for this for over a decade," said Terry Strada, whose husband, Thomas Strada, was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center towers, and has long lobbied Congress on the issue. "We don't feel this is fast-track in any way, shape or form."

Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, both Democrats, called on Obama to sign the bill.

"If Saudi Arabia had no involvement with the attacks, it has nothing to fear from litigation," they wrote in a letter Friday.

The bill's proponents disputed the argument that there will be a boomerang effect if the measure is signed into law. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., another sponsor, said foreign governments cannot look the other way if terrorist activities are being plotted or launched from their countries.

Terry Strada, national head of 9/11 Families United For Justice Against Terrorism, dismissed fears that the U.S. could be the target of lawsuits.

"If we're not funding terrorist organizations and killing people, then we don't have anything to worry about," she said.

But French Parliament member Pierre Lellouche, who serves as chairman of France's equivalent of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he would pursue legislation that would permit French citizens to sue the United States with cause.

"I have sympathy with the notion of hitting those countries which actively support terrorism," Lellouche said Friday. But the U.S. bill "will cause a legal revolution in international law with major political consequences."

The vote came after House members from both parties briefly adjourned to commemorate the anniversary of the attacks. House Speaker Paul Ryan led a moment of silence on the Capitol steps, and lawmakers sang "God Bless America" in remembrance of 9/11, when lawmakers gathered in the same location to sing the song immediately after the attacks on New York and Washington.

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act had triggered a threat from Riyadh to pull billions of dollars from the U.S. economy if the legislation is enacted. But Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir denied in May that the kingdom made any threats over the bill. He said Riyadh had warned that investor confidence in the U.S. would shrink if the bill became law.

"In fact what they [Congress] are doing is stripping the principle of sovereign immunities, which would turn the world for international law into the law of the jungle," Al-Jubeir said.

Information for this article was contributed by Richard Lardner, Jon Gambrell and Matthew Lee of The Associated Press; and by Jennifer Steinhauer of The New York Times.</s>House to vote on Sept. 11 legislation as veto threat looms

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is slated to vote on a bipartisan bill that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, setting the stage for a showdown with President Barack Obama on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the attacks.

The Senate passed the bill in May by voice vote despite the strident objections from Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals.

The White House has signaled Obama would veto the legislation over concerns about exposing Americans overseas to legal risks. If the door is opened for U.S. citizens to take the Saudis to court, then a foreign country could in turn sue the United States, the Obama administration has cautioned. Votes from two-thirds of the members in the House and Senate would be needed to override a veto.

FILE - This June 16, 2016, file photo, shows an exterior view of the Capitol Building in Washington. The House is slated to vote Sept. 9 on a bipartisan bill that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, setting the stage for a showdown with President Barack Obama on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the attacks. The Senate passed the bill in May by voice vote despite the strident objections from Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"We wanted it to come to the floor, symbolically before the 15th anniversary," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the bill's sponsor in the House. "We've been aiming toward that the entire session."

The bill set for a House vote Friday gives victims' families the right to sue in U.S. 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.

Terry Strada, national chair for 9/11 Families United For Justice Against Terrorism, disagreed that the bill could backfire as the White House has warned.

"If we're not funding terrorist organizations and killing people, then we don't have anything to worry about," she said.

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act had triggered a threat from Riyadh to pull billions of dollars from the U.S. economy if the legislation is enacted. But Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir denied in May that the kingdom made any threats over the bill. He said Riyadh had warned that investor confidence in the U.S. would shrink if the bill became law.

"In fact what they (Congress) are doing is stripping the principle of sovereign immunities, which would turn the world for international law into the law of the jungle," Al-Jubeir said.

The House vote will come two months after Congress released 28 declassified pages from a congressional report into 9/11 that reignited speculation over links at least a few of the attackers had to Saudis, including government officials. The allegations were never substantiated by later U.S. investigations into the terrorist attacks.

Brian McGlinchey, director of advocacy website 28pages.org, said making the documents public "strengthened the resolve of 9/11 families and other advocates of justice to bring about the enactment" of the bill.

A decision by Obama to veto legislation "that would give 9/11 families their well-deserved day in court would truly stain his legacy," McGlinchey said.

In a separate development, a bipartisan group of senators announced Thursday that they've introduced a joint resolution of disapproval to block the Obama administration's proposed sale of more than $1 billion worth of U.S. weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., cited Saudi Arabia's poor human rights record and the kingdom's role in Yemen's civil war.

The war is pitting Yemen's internationally recognized government and a Saudi-led coalition against the Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who are allied with army units loyal to a former president. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes in Yemen since March 2015.

"Selling $1.15 billion in tanks, guns, ammunition, and more to a country with a poor human rights record embroiled in a bitter war is a recipe for disaster and an escalation of an ongoing arms race in the region," Paul said.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Friday that would allow the families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia's government for damages, despite the White House's threat to veto the measure.

The U.S. Senate in May unanimously passed the "Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act," known as JASTA. The bill's passage in the House by voice vote, two days before the 15th anniversary of the attacks that killed about 3,000 people, was greeted with cheers and applause in the chamber.

"We can no longer allow those who injure and kill Americans to hide behind legal loopholes, denying justice to the victims of terrorism," said Republican Representative Bob Goodlatte, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Fifteen of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers who crashed airliners in New York, outside Washington and in Pennsylvania were Saudi nationals. The Saudi government, which strongly denies responsibility, has lobbied against the bill.

Opponents of the measure said it could strain relations with Saudi Arabia and lead to retaliatory laws that would allow foreign nationals to sue Americans for alleged involvement in terrorist attacks.

The White House on Friday reiterated that President Barack Obama would veto the bill. [nW1N12802E]

If Obama carries out that threat and the required two-thirds of both the Republican-majority House and Senate still support the bill, it would be the first time since Obama's presidency began in 2009 that Congress had overridden a veto.

The House passed the measure by voice vote, without objections or recorded individual votes. That could make it easier for Obama's fellow Democrats to uphold his veto later without officially changing their positions.

JASTA would remove sovereign immunity, preventing lawsuits against governments, for countries found to be involved in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. It also would allow survivors, and relatives of those killed in them to seek damages from other countries.

In this case, it would allow suits to proceed in federal court in New York as lawyers try to prove that the Saudis were involved in the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Backers say passage is long overdue. They argue that if Saudi Arabia, or any other government, is innocent of involvement in attacks, they have nothing to fear from the legislation.

A member of the French parliament, Pierre Lellouche, said he would consider such legislation in France, and would anticipate it elsewhere, if the final version of JASTA does not include waivers for countries that are U.S. allies and actively involved in fighting terrorism.

"It may trigger similar acts all over the place, and then you enter into a 'state of jungle' where everybody sues everybody," Lellouche, who runs a parliamentary committee on international law, told reporters on a conference call on Friday.
The United States Congress passes a law allowing families of the victims of the September 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia. U.S. president Barack Obama threatens to veto it.