Chris Smith: “I want to thank my good friend, Mr. Goodlatte, for yielding; and I want to thank Mr. Goodlatte and Mr. King for their…”

“I want to thank my good friend, Mr. Goodlatte, for yielding; and I want to thank Mr. Goodlatte and Mr. King for their extraordinary leadership on this bill. Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to the President of the United States, the central argument in this veto message accompanying the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, reciprocity is weak, unsupported, and egregiously flawed. The White House drafters of the veto message either didn't read the carefully crafted bipartisan bill or are seeking to conflate the plain legislative text since JASTA only permits access to U.S. courts by waiving immunity from foreign governments, not foreign government officials or employees, and corrects conflicting case law, except in the cases where someone knowingly aids, abets, or conspires with a State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization. Thus, the President is wrong to assert that, under the hallowed principle of reciprocity, U.S. officials and military personnel could be subjected to lawsuits. It is worth noting that nothing precludes that now or ever, but as an argument for veto, it simply doesn't pass muster. While sovereign immunity has its place in the conduct of responsible diplomacy, it is not absolute, as even the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act contains nine exceptions. In 2008, Mr. Speaker, as you know, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed legal action against Saudi Arabia and other defendants, holding U.S.…”