Menendez: Resolve 9/ 11 claims or Sudan bill can’t pass

The Senate will not pass bills necessary to fulfill the Trump administration’s commitments to the burgeoning democratic government in Khartoum if the US State Department does not address claims against Sudan from victims of 9/ 11 and other terror attacks, US Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey wrote in a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo obtained by The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

Sudan’s transitional government – in place since former president Omar al- Bashir was deposed last year – has sought to be removed from the list of state sponsors of terror and to receive economic aid, debt relief and investments from the US, where there is broad bipartisan consensus in favor of these moves.

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Sudan would be removed from the list pending the payment of $ 335 million in compensation for victims of terror.

Part of the deal between the countries is that Congress would pass legislation granting Sudan immunity from further lawsuits from past victims of terror attacks, but Menendez and other Senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ( D- NY) and Sen. Chris Coons ( R- DE) have demanded that the claims of additional victims of terror not be blocked.

In his letter to Pompeo, Menendez, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, voiced his strong support for US engagement with and assistance to the Sudanese government as it transitions into democracy, and has pushed for greater American backing for that transition.

Menendez said in the letter written last week that he “would like to see swift passage” of legislation settling terrorism- related claims and restoring Sudan’s legal standing in the US, but said it would be necessary for “the State Department to work with us in good faith to resolve my concerns.”

“Absent an acceptable resolution, passage of the legislation will be extremely difficult and likely impossible to achieve regardless of any commitments or escrow arrangement between the [ State] Department and Sudan,” Menendez warned.

Menendez also pointed out that members of the Senate were not given the text of the State Department’s deal with Sudan, saying it was “unacceptable” to ask that laws be passed to implement it under those circumstances.

“The Sudanese people have what may be a once- in- a- generation opportunity to establish a democratic government, a transition that clearly is in our strategic interest,” Menendez wrote. “Providing needed and well- deserved support to Sudan, while also ensuring fairness for victims of terrorism, requires a joint effort between the administration and Congress.”