On September 28, 2016, the U.S. Congress voted overwhelmingly to overturn President Barack Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). Catalyzed by the families of those killed in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Senate voted 97–1 and the House voted 348–77 for the override. Issuing a statement on the matter, Obama expressed “deep sympathy for the families of the victims of the terrorist attacks,” but argued that “[e]nacting JASTA into law, however, would neither protect Americans from terrorist attacks nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks.” Obama went on to argue that “JASTA departs from longstanding standards and practice under our Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and threatens to strip all foreign governments of immunity from judicial process in the United States based solely upon allegations by private litigants” and that it “would upset longstanding international principles regarding sovereign immunity, putting in place rules that, if applied globally, could have serious implications for U.S. national interests.” Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), protested in response that the White House had “no desire” to meet and come to an agreement about proceeding “in a manner that will not possibly undermine other equities that the United States government and our people have.” This was the first veto override of Obama’s presidency.