U.S. Sen. John Cornyn pressured President Joe Biden on the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 to support his legislation strengthening an existing law that empowers families and victims of the attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for its involvement.
“Today is a solemn reminder of the pain and grief felt by those who lost loved ones in the September 11th attacks, and they deserve to have their day in court and a chance to get long-overdue closure,” Sen. Cornyn (R-TX) said in a statement.
“The Ensuring Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act would allow these brave 9/11 families to seek justice in a court of law, and President Biden’s silence on whether he supports these American heroes over those who carried out these devastating attacks is deafening.”
The senator’s call to the president regards proposed amendments to the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), a 2015 law that allowed impacted Americans to sue Saudi Arabia over 9/11.
Cornyn, along with Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), further introduced legislation in June of this year that would close loopholes in the law to better ensure injured plaintiffs can sue foreign countries for aiding and abetting terrorism.
“The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act was a monumental step forward in providing families who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001 a path to achieve long-overdue closure in a court of law,” Cornyn said in June.
“By making minor technical edits, this bill makes sure JASTA works the way it was intended to, reaffirms our commitment to holding sponsors of terrorism accountable, and ensures victims’ families can continue to seek justice against those who perpetrated these horrific acts.”
More than 4,000 9/11 victims and their families signed a letter last week that called on Congress to pass the bill.
When the bill was initially introduced by Cornyn with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in 2015, it was vetoed by President Barack Obama, who argued it could give leeway to lawsuits against U.S. diplomats and military. However, Congress voted to override the veto and implement it into law.
Biden spent 9/11 Monday at a military base in Alaska, where he delivered a speech in which he said he went to ground zero on September 12, 2001. However, Biden, who was a senator in 2001, delivered a speech in Washington, D.C., that day.
The White House provided a statement to the Daily Caller that emphasized Biden visited ground zero on September 20, 2001, but did not provide proof he was there the day after the attacks.