Holding Terrorists Accountable: 9/11 Families applaud introduction of JASTA in HOR
The 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism, more than 6,600 survivors and family members of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, issued an announcement today applauding the introduction of The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Dan Lungren (R-CA) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), is the companion to bipartisan legislation that Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) introduced in the Senate in November 2011. JASTA/H.R. 5904 would enable terrorism survivors and victims' families to hold accountable the people and entities responsible for financially or materially sponsoring acts of terrorism against the United States.
"I am so grateful for the leadership shown by Representatives Lungren and Nadler. More than three years ago, a federal court ruled in a twisted misinterpretation of anti-terrorism laws that many of those who funded the 9/11 attacks could not be held liable in a U.S. civil court … All of those we allege provided financial and material support for the attacks that killed our son and 3,000 other innocent people, no matter their position or family lineage, must be brought to justice if we are to stop the terrorist financial pipeline and make America safer," said Beverly Burnett in the 9/11 Families' statement. Mrs. Burnett is the mother of United Flight 93 victim and hero Thomas E. Burnett, Jr.
The 9/11 Families are co-plaintiffs (represented by Motley Rice) in the groundbreaking anti-terrorism litigation known as In re Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, consolidated litigation that seeks to learn the truth about the alleged financial and material support that was provided to al Qaeda and needed to accomplish the atrocities of 9/11. They are united to both hold accountable the parties who financed and materially supported the Sept. 11, 2011, attacks, as well as deter future acts of terrorism.
Visit www.justiceagainstterrorism.org to learn more about the JASTA legislation.