Hawkeye Reporter

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), along with Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), in introducing the Ensuring Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act. The bill would close loopholes in the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) to allow the families of victims of terrorism to seek financial compensation from foreign sponsors of terrorism. 

“Congress enacted JASTA to equip families who lost loved ones in 9/11 with the legal means to hold the perpetrators accountable and attain some sense of peace and security. We owe it to these families to ensure the law remains effective and continues to send an ironclad message that the U.S. does not tolerate such evil actions. With this legislation, my colleagues and I are making sure JASTA serves the purpose Congress intended it to,” Grassley said. 

“The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act was a monumental step forward in providing families who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001 a path to achieve long-overdue closure in a court of law,” Cornyn said. “By making minor technical edits, this bill makes sure JASTA works the way it was intended to, reaffirms our commitment to holding sponsors of terrorism accountable, and ensures victims’ families can continue to seek justice against those who perpetrated these horrific acts.” 

“I’m proud to be working alongside Sen. Cornyn and colleagues on bipartisan legislative clarifications to the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which will help ensure that foreign states, which may have aided and abetted terrorism against U.S. citizens, cannot evade justice based on a technicality,” Menendez said. “This effort will ensure that U.S. victims of terrorism and their family members are able to seek justice in a court of law as Congress intended. We must stand in solidarity with those Americans who have been affected by acts of terrorism.”

The Ensuring Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act makes the following technical corrections to JASTA: 

• Clarifies injured plaintiffs can sue foreign state defendants for aiding and abetting terrorism and ensures liability may be asserted as to any person or entity that aids or abets terrorism;
• Ensures plaintiffs, if they obtain on a JASTA claim, can collect their judgement; and
• Clarifies all U.S. citizens injured in their person, business or property may recover under JASTA.

Grassley was an original cosponsor of JASTA when Cornyn and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced it in 2015. As then-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Grassley brought the bill up for consideration and moved it through the amendment process. It was subsequently enacted by Congress in 2016 following an overwhelming override of President Obama’s veto – the only override of his administration. 

The bill is cosponsored by Schumer and Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

Background:

JASTA amended the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSA) to bar foreign sponsors of terrorism from invoking “sovereign immunity” in cases arising from a terrorist attack that kills an American on U.S. soil. JASTA also amended the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1992 to ensure U.S. courts can hear civil suits against foreign sponsors of terrorism when their conduct contributes to an attack killing an American.

Original source can be found here.