Senator Lankford Votes to Override President’s Veto of 9/11 Victim Families Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) made the following statement on his vote to override President Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (S. 2040). It passed the Senate by a vote of 97-1: 

“Despite President Obama’s opposition, I was proud to join 96 of my Senate colleagues in supporting this important bill. Families affected by foreign state-supported terrorism in the U.S. deserve the right to pursue justice for these cowardly and horrific attacks. Foreign states responsible for terrorism on American soil must be held accountable for the damage they cause to innocent Americans, especially when it results in the loss of precious life. Allowing families to sue for terrorist attacks is common sense. Nothing can replace those we have lost through acts of international terrorism, but this legislation can help bring justice for those families and serve as a deterrent for future attacks.”

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act amends the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to allow private citizens to sue a foreign state that supports an act of international terrorism that occurs on American soil. The bill simply removes the procedural bar and allows American families to sue for the devastation caused by foreign states that support terrorist attacks in the U.S. 

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