Pelosi Among Several Dems Ready to Override Obama's 9/11 Bill Veto

Cortney O'Brien | September 23, 2016 3:15 PM

UPDATE: President Obama vetoed The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act on Friday, offering the following explanation.

“I recognize that there is nothing that could ever erase the grief the 9/11 families have endured," Obama wrote in his veto message. "Enacting JASTA into law, however would neither protect Americans from terrorist attacks nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks."

***Original Post***

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has just proven that the September 11 bill that allows victims' families to sue Saudi Arabia is truly a bipartisan effort. In one of her few moments of opposition to President Obama, she will join many of her Republican colleagues in voting to override his veto of the bill.

"I've worked with these families for a very long time, and I think they should have their day in court," Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol.

Not only will she vote for the override, but Pelosi is confident it will be successful.

"[It] was the mobilization of the families," Pelosi said, predicting that the vote to override Obama's expected veto would succeed for the same reason.
"I think it's going to happen," she said. "The families will have the votes."

Many of those votes will come from her fellow Democrats.

Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), for instance, represents a district that lost many people on 9/11. Their families, he argues, deserve some "accountability." Reps. Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) have also expressed support for the bill.

The White House opposes the bill because they believe it will create hostility between the States and Saudi Arabia and leave diplomats and service members vulnerable to lawsuits in the future. Lawmakers, however, argue that is not a strong enough argument to deny 9/11 families their due justice and closure.