Some Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill continue to consider their votes on the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) and, according to some reports, are “starting to show cracks in their support” of the legislation after efforts by the Obama administration to convey the risk of the bill’s potential international relations fallout.
JASTA, which would expand exposure of foreign nations to lawsuits in the U.S. by amending the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act for cases of terrorism and other ‘tortious acts’, would pave the way for 9/11 families to pursue lawsuits related to those attacks.
President Obama in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
President Obama is expected to veto the bill, and must do so by Friday. His administration argues that the bill would undermine international law and threatens U.S. interests abroad. The repercussions of opening the United States up to lawsuits in other national courts would greatly complicate relations with allies around the world. The White House and the bill’s opponents also argue that the bill passing into law would put at risk the nation’s government, diplomatic, military personnel, and even U.S. private sector companies.
While the White House may have a “steep hill to climb” in securing the 34 necessary votes in the Senate to block a veto override, some Senators may be softening their stance as the Obama Administration voices its concerns.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that White House officials and other senior officials on the president’s national security team “have engaged members of Congress and their staffs in both parties in both houses.”
President Obama and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif are both in New York for the U.N. meetings this week.
According to Politico. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Califorinia), who is the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, “indicated this week that she was rethinking her support for the Saudi Arabia legislation amid renewed arguments against the measure from the Obama administration,” Politico reports.
“I do have some second thoughts with respect to that,” Feinstein said, according to Politico. “I think it could bring on a whole host of unintended consequences.”
JASTA could lead to “U.S. diplomats, service members, and companies being taken to court all over the world because it would erode the principle of sovereign immunity,” the White House said.
But while the Politico article says the Obama Administration has been in touch with some key Senators, a separate report in The Hill says that other Senators are not feeling a strong outreach from the White House yet.
That report cites Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, as saying “he hasn’t heard from the White House about potential changes, despite publicly urging the administration to reach out. “I can’t feel a lot of energy coming from the White House on this issue,” he was quoted as saying in The Hill.
White House officials and other senior officials on the president’s national security team have engaged members of Congress and their staffs in both parties in both houses, according to reports.
But Earnest said that the Obama Administration would continue to engage with Congress through the veto and until it is successful in defending its veto of the politically-charged bill.
“We’re going to continue that engagement up to and through the president vetoing this legislation in the hopes that we can find an alternative that preserves the effective response that we’ve already designed to counter state sponsors of terrorism rather than leaving that designation subject to individual decisions by individual judges,” Earnest said.
