Speech #1140063286

Since ISIS first occupied territory in Iraq and Syria and began recruiting foreign fighters. the possibility of these combatants returning home has been a concern to the United States and to our allies. and this attack in Paris demonstrates the validity of that concern. As a nation we must remain vigilant in defending our homeland against this type of attack by radicalized individuals holding U.S. or European passports. I also wish to speak for a moment about the Syrian refugee crisis because it ties into everything that has happened in that region of the world. As we are all aware. the regime of Bashar alAssad is responsible for the civil war in Syria that allowed ISIS to gain a foothold and to expand. Assad used chemical weapons on his own people and hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost as a result of the conflict he created. It is completely understandable that the peaceloving people of that country want out. Just this week. several of my colleagues sent a letter to President Obama expressing concerns about the possibility of ISIS infiltrating the Syrian refugee population and asking what is being done to thoroughly vet these refugees. Over half the Governors in this Nation have stated they dont want Syrian refugees resettled in their States. I share their concerns. The United States should not accept Syrian refugees as long as there is a threat posed by ISIS. If we cannot be 100 percent certain that additional refugees from Syria do not put Americans at risk. the Presidents plan to accept up to 10.000 additional refugees this year should be rejected. If the President tries to act unilaterally. Congress should cut off funding to prevent the President from taking any action that would put the American people at risk. If we are going to be serious about solving the Syrian refugee crisis. the answer is not deciding which countries are accepting how many refugees. the answer is to defeat ISIS and remove Basher alAssad from power so the peaceloving people of Syria can return home. On that point. I want to speak about a realistic strategy for defeating ISIS.