Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. I thank the Senator from Texas.

My friend the senior Senator from Texas is exactly right: we have made several changes to the bill since the last time it was introduced--and passed--to make it as narrow and targeted as possible.

I join him in thanking Senators Sessions and Graham for working with us to strike the right balance.

I have two points on this.

Congress addressed terrorism under the FSIA decades ago, in what became section 1605A, the exception for ``state sponsors of terrorism.'' I want to make clear that JASTA is responding to a very specific issue about terrorism on U.S. soil. It is not our intent to imply anything about other areas of law. Other provisions of this statute allowing victims of terror to sue foreign governments for acts of international terrorism have a longstanding jurisprudence that JASTA is not meant to alter.

The new version of the legislation also includes an important new tool for the executive branch to address litigation against a foreign sovereign under section 1605B.

Section 5 allows the Department of Justice to seek a stay of the litigation--including related cases, not against the foreign state itself--if the government certifies that it is involved in good-faith discussions to resolve the matter. This stay can be extended.

Of course, if the administration seeks to use this new authority, it should be prepared to provide substantial evidence of good-faith negotiations to the court such as details about those involved in the discussions and their authority to reach a resolution, where and when the discussion occurred and a timeline for resolving the matter.

I wish to say a few words about secondary liability under the Anti- Terrorism Act, which JASTA addresses.

The purpose of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act is to hold foreign sponsors of terrorism that target the United States accountable in Federal courts.

One thing that has come up in our discussions of this bill is whether the bill's provisions would extend civil liability under the Anti- Terrorism Act to situations where someone has been forced to make payments or provide aid to aid to a foreign terrorist organization under genuine duress or, for example, as ransom payments for the release of someone taken hostage. This type of conduct is outside the scope of traditional aiding and abetting liability and our bill does not change that.

To sum up, the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act has been amended, and amended again, in its relatively short life, in order to strike the proper balance between our interests abroad and the rights of our citizens to obtain redress when they are victims of wrongdoing--no matter who the perpetrator is. This version of JASTA would move our laws even closer to that ideal balance.

I yield again to the senior Senator from Texas.

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I thank my good friend from Texas for yielding and for the great job he has done. This is another example of bipartisan legislation and, in fact, another example of a Cornyn- Schumer collaboration, which works pretty well around here.

Senator Cornyn and I have introduced this bill for the last three Congresses, first under the leadership of Senator Leahy and then under Senator Grassley. It has twice passed without objection through the Senate Judiciary Committee, once by the full Senate. I thank Senators Leahy and Grassley for their help as well.

The bill is very near and dear to my heart as a New Yorker because it would allow the victims of 9/11 to pursue some small measure of justice by giving them a legal avenue to hold foreign sponsors of terrorism accountable for their actions.

The courts in New York have dismissed the 9/11 victims' claims against certain foreign entities alleged to have helped fund the 9/11 attacks. These courts are following what we believe is a nonsensical reading of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. For the sake of the families, I want to make clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that every entity, including foreign states, will be held accountable if they are found to be sponsors of the heinous act of 9/11.

My friend, the senior Senator from Texas, and I have worked hard to narrow the bill to strike the proper balance between our interests abroad and the rights of our citizens to obtain redress when they are victims of terrible wrongdoing. We had a colloquy for the Record that goes into more detail on some of the legal nitty-gritty, but we cannot lose sight of the bigger picture: What this legislation means to the victims of 9/11 transcends day-to-day politics.

One of the most impassioned advocates of this bill is Ms. Terry Strada, who is seeking justice for her husband Tom. Tom lost his life in the North Tower on September 11. Terry didn't just lose a husband; she lost a father to a young son of 7, a daughter of 4, and a tiny baby boy who was born shortly after the towers fell. She lost a loving father and her best friend. Terry Strada and many others are seeking what we would all be compelled to seek if we suffered such loss at the hands of hate and evil, which is simply justice.

The fact that some foreign governments may have aided and abetted terrorism is infuriating to the families if justice is not done. That is what they seek--justice, justice, justice.

Terry and her three children have championed this bill for over a decade. They are not cursing the darkness--as would be human nature to do--at their terrible, unjust, and almost inexplicable loss. Instead, her family and many other families have chosen to light candles, to do whatever they can to make sure this never happens again, so that any foreign entity that would seek to choose to help and aid and abet and do terrorism here on our shores will pay a price if it is proven that they have done so.

So Terry and the other families are lighting candles--a saintly act. I thank them and all the other families as well--Monica Gabrielle, Mindy Kleinberg, Lori Van Auken, Kristen Breitweiser, Patty Casazza-- for their tireless advocacy and patience.

In conclusion, JASTA is long overdue--a responsible, balanced fix to a law that has extended too large a shield to foreign actors who finance and enable terrorism on a massive scale. The victims of 9/11 and other terrorist attacks have suffered such pain and heartache that they certainly should not be denied justice.

Mr. President, I yield to my colleague from Texas for the unanimous consent request.

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