Speech #1140063785

I rise tonight. Mr. Speaker. to call for a moratorium on the entry of refugees into the United States from Syria and all other countries that have been infiltrated by ISIS and other terrorist groups until security concerns can be adequately addressed. In the wake of the recent attacks in Paris. in Beirut. and on a Russian plane flying over the Sinai. my first and foremost concern is for the safety and security of my constituents in western Pennsylvania. To put it simply. the safety and security of the American people are nonnegotiable. Right now we simply do not have the mechanisms in place to ensure that the 10.000 Syrian refugees that the President would have come into this country over the next year and other refugees from terroristcontrolled areas are properly vetted. FBI Director James Comey has said as much: "If someone has never made a ripple in the pond in Syria in a way that would get their identity or their interest reflected in our database. we can query our database until the cows come home. but there will be nothing show up because we have no record of them." The Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Homeland Security have said the same. It is both reasonable and prudent to insist that we know exactly who these individuals are before they settle into our towns and cities.