Speech #1140073181

I am not going to wait 2 years to do that and face the most rigorous of vetting processes for anyone trying to come to this country. For those of Syrian descent. the process could be even longer than that. It is a long time to wait for terrorists if they were going to try to use the refugee program to access the United States. If I were a terrorist trying to come here. the last thing I would do is go through those 2 years of vetting. While I understand my colleagues concerns. the refugee bill that we dealt with today would do little to address our Nations security needs. That is why many of my colleagues joined me in opposing this bill. The bill that was before us would require the head of top national security agencies to personally certify that each refugee from Syria and Iraq poses no security threat before admission to the United Statesnot now. not ever. If this bill had passed. it would have served as a backdoor way to shut off the refugee program by requiring our national security leadersthe head of the FBI. Director of National Intelligence. Secretary of Homeland Securityto promise something they would never promise. As currently drafted. this bill would require these three national security leaders to guarantee that the refugee will never. never become a security threat. That is not how these leaders or their organizations evaluate security threats. They dont have a crystal ball. and they cannot predict the future. Simply put. the SAFE Act would effectively stop the resettlement of fully vetted refugee women. children. families. and older folks from Syria and from Iraq and would weaken our national security. Again. that is one of the reasons I believe we must focus our attention on threats that pose a greater risk to our homeland. Democrats put forward a series of commonsense solutionsalternatives. if you willthat will strengthen our security and help protect us against ISIS. a couple of which I had the pleasure of coauthoring. Instead of vilifying refugees. the proposals that we put forward impose tough new sanctions on financial institutions if they knowingly facilitate transactions with ISIS. That particular proposal closes loopholes that would let terrorists legally buy guns. This bill improves intelligence sharing with our allies who join us in the fight against ISIS.