WASHINGTON: Both chambers of the US Congress voted on Wednesday to override President Barack Obama’s veto of legislation that allowed the families of Sept 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for alleged backing of the attackers.

It was the first time since Obama became president that the Congress has voted to bypass a veto.

The House of Representatives voted 348-77 while the Senate 97-1 to override the presidential veto.

Obama ally Harry Reid was the only senator who voted against the override.

The legislation now becomes law and allows the Sept 11 victims’ families to sue Riyadh. President Obama and top Pentagon officials have warned that the law could put US troops and interests at risk.

Several lawmakers who voted for the legislation acknowledged the defects could trigger lawsuits from people in other countries opposed to US policies and military actions.

But proponents said the bill was narrowly tailored and applied only to acts of terrorism that occur on US soil.

Rare bipartisanship

The rare act of bipartisanship is a severe blow to Obama, who lobbied hard against the bill, known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (Jasta).

It marks Obama’s last months in office and shows the White House to be much weakened.

Obama has issued 12 vetoes during his presidency, until now none have yet been revoked, a rare feat given Republicans’ long control of Congress.

The White House argued the bill would undermine the principle of sovereign immunity and open up the US itself to lawsuits.

In a letter to Republican and Democratic Senate leaders, Obama said “I strongly believe that enacting Jasta into law would be detrimental to US national interests.” Obama warned of “devastating” consequences for the Pentagon, service members, diplomats and the intelligence services.

It would “neither protect Americans from terrorist attacks, nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks,” he warned.

Published in Dawn September 29th, 2016