WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, in advance of the 22nd anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) joined Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) on Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier for the show’s Common Ground segment, to discuss the bipartisan Ensuring Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act.
“[The Ensuring Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act] is important, and just to step back for a minute: the doctrine of sovereign immunity has been used, essentially, to allow states that are involved in things that injure our citizens immunity from being held accountable. And this legislation was a breakthrough on that. And it would give people that access to justice. These corrections that we’re making now are going to mean that businesses who’ve been injured also have a right of action, as John said. It means that it’s going to be more possible to collect on your judgment—getting a verdict, but not getting the money doesn’t at all help,” said Sen. Welch on Fox News. “So I’m glad we’re standing up for the 9/11 victims. They can feel forgotten, and the injuries are brutal. You know, in Vermont, a good ways from New York, we had 35 families who were affected by this.”
Watch the full segment on bipartisanship here.
The Ensuring Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act is bipartisan legislation that would make technical fixes to the 2016-passed Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). The bill helps families of victims of terrorism to seek justice in a court of law from foreign sponsors of terrorism. The bill is led in the Senate by Sens. Cornyn (R-TX) and Menendez (D-NJ).
Senator Welch serves on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
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