Correction: The original version of this story stated that new construction was needed to accommodate F-22 fighter aircraft at Eielson Air Force Base. F-35 fighters are being deployed there.
Don Young did an unusual thing on Wednesday: He agreed with Barack Obama.
On Wednesday, Alaska’s lone U.S. Representative was one of only 18 House Republicans and 77 Representatives overall who voted to support Obama’s veto of a bill that would allow the families of Sept. 11 terror attack victims to sue Saudi Arabia for its alleged support of the terrorists involved.
That bill had passed the House and Senate along unanimous lines but Obama vetoed it over concerns that it would expose American diplomats and military figures to retaliatory lawsuits. Matt Shuckerow, a spokesman for Young, said the initial vote in the House was a voice vote that denied Young a chance to express concerns.
In a statement after the veto override, Young said his vote Wednesday wasn’t about the president, it was “an examination of policy.”
“My concerns for this legislation — specifically the risk it poses to our national security and the safety of American military and intelligence personnel, diplomats, and other Americans serving our country overseas — outweighed the politics of delivering President Obama his first veto override,” Young said.
The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, commonly known as JASTA, amends a 1976 law that Young supported at the time. That law, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, declares that “foreign states are immune from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts except as provided in this act.”
The families of many Sept. 11 victims contend that Saudi Arabian officials lended support to the terrorists who killed their family members. A formerly redacted section of the 9/11 Commission Report declassified earlier this year appeared to back that argument. What is not clear is whether those officials acted with the support of their government or as individuals.
Before the House voted 348-77 to override Obama’s JASTA veto, the U.S. Senate voted 97-1 to do so as well.
In a prepared statement, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said, “This bill, long demanded by families of 9/11 victims, provides victims of terror attacks with an avenue to justice by giving them an opportunity to have their case heard in court.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, also voted in support of the bill (Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada was the ‘no’ vote), but he was more equivocal about that support. Sullivan was among 27 senators who signed a letter saying that they want to resolve the concerns about the bill.
“If other nations respond to this bill by weakening U.S. sovereign immunity protections, then the United States could face private lawsuits in foreign courts as a result of important military or intelligence activities,” the letter states.
Shuckerow said the senators’ letter is along the Representative’s thinking as well.
“Those are some of the concerns that he shares,” Shuckerow said.
Senate votes to keep government running
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted 72-26 to approve a continuing resolution that gives the U.S. government the funding to continue operating through the second week of December. The House was expected to vote on the measure by today then adjourn until after the election.
Included within the resolution is a provision that prohibits the Securities and Exchange Commission from requiring corporations to disclose campaign contributions.
Sullivan and Murkowski each voted for the resolution, which includes the entire appropriations bill for the Veterans Administration and for military construction.
Alaska is expected to receive several hundred million dollars in new construction as a result of new F-35 fighter jets expected for Eielson Air Force Base in the Interior.
• Contact Empire state reporter James Brooks at 523-2258.
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