House to vote on bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia

The House will vote this week on legislation that would allow families of 9/11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, CBS News has confirmed.

In May, the Senate passed the measure, which was sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Chuck Schumer, D-New York.

The White House has expressed opposition to the bill. Speaking to CBS News’ Charlie Rose in April, President Obama warned that the bill could have consequences that would, for example, allow people in other countries to sue the U.S.

“This is a matter of how generally the United States approaches our interactions with other countries. If we open up the possibility that individuals and the United States can routinely start suing other governments, then we are also opening up the United States to being continually sued by individuals in other countries,” Mr. Obama said at the time.

The vote will come only days before the 15th anniversary of the 2001 attacks that killed thousands in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.