Only a day before the 15th anniversary of the terrifying 9/11 terrorist attack in New York City and families of the victims can now seek revenge by filing a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia. A bilateral bill has been approved along with the measure by voice vote on Friday.
The legislation was passed by The House through voice vote saying that it's a "moral imperative" to enable the victims' families to look for justice for their loved ones' demise. The country will commemorate tomorrow the 15th anniversary of the attacks that took down the towers of the World Trade Center and wreaked havoc on the Pentagon.
"This administration strongly continues to oppose this legislation, and, you know, we'll obviously begin conversations with the House about it," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in May when the Senate passed the bill.
In May, the legislation was passed by the Senate through unanimous consent with the government revealing an antecedently classified set of pages from the congressional inquiry of 2002 regarding the 9/11 attacks. It was suspected that there had been connections between the terrorist and Saudi Arabia. The said pages did not substantially add to the details that were already announced through other reports and documents, according to The Washington Post.
However, families of the victims want the court to investigate beyond any connections between Saudi officials or the government itself and the 9/11 terrorists. They are weighing on the White House to draw back its veto warning and at the same time request lawmakers not to go out of town in case an override vote is necessary.
The Guardian reported that the legislation's approval puts Congress on a disagreement possibility with President Obama on the day before the anniversary of the devastating attack. Out of the 19 hijackers, fifteen were Saudi nationals.
President Obama's administration warns that if Americans can take Saudi to court, it will not be too soon that the same thing will happen to the US in case a foreign country tries to sue them.