Bill's Veto at Last Minute by Obama May Be Overridden

President Barack Obama on Friday (Sept 23) vetoed a Bill allowing 9/11 families to sue Saudi Arabia, risking fierce public backlash and a rare congressional rebuke. The House and Senate approved the measure by voice votes.

The US-Saudi relationship had already been strained by Obama's engagement with Saudi's Shia foe Iran and the July release of a secret report on Saudi involvement in the attacks.

"It's disappointing the president chose to veto legislation unanimously passed by Congress and overwhelmingly supported by the American people", John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican whip and a co-sponsor, said in a statement.

"I worry about legal matters", Ryan said.

Congress is gearing up to hand President Barack Obama the first veto override of his administration, which could come early next week.

The OMB said there was enough time for Congress to pass a short-term funding bill, but "prudent management requires that the government plan for the possibility of a lapse".

It's unclear how soon an override vote might come.

"The bill is not balanced, sets a risky precedent, and has real potential to destabilise vital bilateral relationships and the global economy", GE Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who backs the legislation.

On Tuesday, Cornyn met with families of victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to discuss the legislation now in limbo.

"The families of the victims of 9/11 deserve their day in court, and justice for those families shouldn't be thrown overboard because of diplomatic concerns", Schumer said.

"And I do worry about the precedents", Ryan said during a press briefing in the Capitol. Earnest discussed the a bill allowing lawsuits against foreign sponsors of terrorism and other topics.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens, but no link to the government has been proven. Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said this week that the Saudi government has warned that enacting the bill would cause a "significant change" in the U.S. -Saudi relationship. Saudi Arabia, a key US ally in the Middle East, strongly objected to the bill.

Obama, however, has vowed to reject the measure over concerns that it will upend the long-standing legal tradition of diplomatic immunity afforded to sovereign states, thereby subjecting USA citizens, companies and diplomats to similar suits overseas. The U.S. relies on the Saudis as a counter to Iran's influence in the region as well as to help combat the spread of terrorism throughout the Middle East.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from CT, told the New York Times that voting against Obama wouldn't be easy, but he planned to do so on principle.

On Thursday, Republicans produced a bill which Democrats immediately rejected.

"Fifteen years has passed without answers or accountability for the most horrific attack on America - we are angry, frustrated and exhausted", said Terry Strada, whose husband was killed at the World Trade Center. Obama administration officials have repeatedly argued that the bill would open up American government personnel and service members to lawsuits overseas.

The bill's proponents disputed arguments of a boomerang effect if the measure were to become law.