US House passes 9/11 bill

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON (AA) - The House of Representatives passed a bill Friday that would allow the families of victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks to sue Saudi Arabia in American courts.

The bill passed by a voice vote two days before the 15th anniversary of the attacks.

Saudi Arabia has criticized the bill that was passed in the Senate in May, also by a voice vote.

The Saudi government told the Obama administration it would sell off hundreds of billions of dollars of American assets held by the Kingdom if Congress passes the bill and the measure is signed into law.

The White House vowed that President Barack Obama will veto the bill known as the Justice against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.

The proposal was crafted by Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, and Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.

If it becomes law, it would give 9/11 victims’ families the right to sue Saudi Arabia for any alleged role it may have had in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. One of the three planes crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.

The intelligence community in July declassified and released 28 pages of Congress' first investigation in the attacks.

The information lays out a number of circumstances suggesting the possibility that two hijackers who were living in California received financial and operational support from individuals loyal to Saudi Arabia, months before the attacks.