Trent Lott e-mailed Senate legislative directors on Monday warning that the bill could lead other countries to withdraw their assets from the U.S. | Getty Saudi lobbyists plot new push against 9/11 bill With a veto override looming, the Saudis are leaning on U.S. companies to pressure Congress to kill the measure.

Saudi Arabia is mounting a last-ditch campaign to scuttle legislation allowing families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to sue the kingdom — and they're enlisting major American companies to make an economic case against the bill.

General Electric, Dow Chemical, Boeing and Chevron are among the corporate titans that have weighed in against the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA, which passed both chambers unanimously and was vetoed on Friday, according to people familiar with the effort. The companies are acting quietly to avoid the perception of opposing victims of terrorism, but they're responding to Saudi arguments that their own corporate assets in the kingdom could be at risk if the law takes effect.


Meanwhile, Trent Lott, the former Senate majority leader who now co-leads Squire Patton Boggs' lobbying group, e-mailed Senate legislative directors on Monday warning that the bill could lead other countries to withdraw their assets from the United States and retaliate with laws allowing claims against American government actions.

"Many foreign entities have long-standing, intimate relations with U.S. financial institutions that they would undoubtedly unwind, to the further detriment of the U.S. economy," reads one of the attachments, obtained by POLITICO. "American corporations with interests abroad may be at risk of retaliation, a possibility recently expressed by GE and Dow."

Still, the Saudis and their agents face a significant uphill battle, with lawmakers loath to take a vote against victims of the 9/11 attacks right before an election. There was little public opposition to the bill as it made its way through the Capitol, and even now, efforts to tweak the bill haven't caught much traction.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Monday that the Senate will vote Wednesday on a motion to override President Barack Obama's veto, and if override advocates are successful there, the House will take the same vote Thursday or Friday, a House Republican leadership aide said.

But even if Obama receives the first veto override of his presidency, the story won't end there: the Saudis will seek a new bill to scale back the law in the lame-duck session or in the next session, after lawmakers are relieved from the heat of the campaign, people familiar with the plans said.

"It's Washington at its finest," one of the people said.

While the White House has emphasized national security to justify rejecting the bill, enlisting business interests could prove influential with lawmakers representing places where the companies have significant economic footprints. Companies could lose favored access to the Saudi market and see their own assets subject to seizure in lawsuits, just as Saudi holdings in the U.S. would be, people familiar with the situation said.

"While I understand that the sponsors are well-intentioned, the bill potentially could have serious consequences for our country's critical relationships in the Middle East and with the rest of the world," GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt wrote in a Sept. 22 letter to McConnell obtained by POLITICO. "The bill is not balanced, sets a dangerous precedent, and has real potential to destabilize bilateral relationships and the global economy."

In May GE committed to investing $3 billion in Saudi water, energy, aviation and digital projects, part of the country's push to diversify its economy from oil.

One source familiar with Boeing's effort said the company wrote in the letter that the victims’ families deserve justice but argued that the economic consequences of the bill were important to consider. The letter warned of potential job losses, the source said. Dow Chemical is also lobbying against the bill, people familiar with the campaign said.

Dow has several facilities in Saudi Arabia and Boeing this year sent its first 787 jet to Saudi Arabian Airlines. Chevron, which has an oil field and chemical plants in the kingdom, reported lobbying on the bill last quarter, disclosure show. Several financial firms are also monitoring the legislation but not taking a stand on it.

The Saudis are now spending more than $250,000 a month fighting the bill, retaining powerhouses Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Glover Park Group, Sphere Consulting and Squire Patton Boggs. Besides working with companies invested in Saudi Arabia, the lobbyists are directly contacting lawmakers, placing opinion articles and seeking support from think tank scholars.

GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bob Corker of Tennessee are trying to hammer out a compromise that would soften the bill, bringing it in line with previously proposed versions rather than keeping the harsher language that just passed.

A proposed amendment obtained by POLITICO — an effort that one person said was led primarily by Graham — suggests restoring an exemption for discretionary government actions, which the document says would prevent American interference in foreign countries' internal policies and vice versa. A Graham spokesman declined to comment on the language.

Graham, who had voiced concerns about the legislation, said in an interview last week that discussions to address those issues were "not at the level I would appreciate."

"We'll see," Graham said then. "Time will tell."

GE declined to comment beyond Immelt's letter. Dow, Boeing, Chevron and the Saudi embassy didn't answer requests for comment.

Jeremy Herb and Rachael Bade contributed to this report.