WASHINGTON -- Less than a week after the attacks that killed 129 people in Paris and wounded many more, the U.S. House voted in favor of new screening standards for refugees from Syria and Iraq.
The bill, which passed with a veto-proof majority, comes as the attacks have heightened fears here that terrorists could enter the United States through the federal resettlement program.
If the bill becomes law, it would require the FBI to conduct background checks on all Syrian and Iraqi refugees who want to enter the United States. The leaders of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, as well as the Director of National Intelligence, would be required to certify to Congress that each refugee "is not a threat to the security of the United States."
On the House floor, Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, a Republican, said the bill was not about "who we welcome into our country, it's about keeping out those who pose a threat to our national security."
Democrats, led by Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, argued that the bill would effectively shut the country's doors to Syrians and Iraqis who are themselves often the victims of terrorism.
"We are debating a bill that appeals to the worst in us and hurts the very people who are fleeing the very violence and chaos that ISIS has wrought," McGovern said.
"We're going to go home and say we did something, when actually we did nothing" to boost natl security -- Rep. Boyle on Syrian refugee bill— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) November 19, 2015
The White House has threatened to veto the legislation, saying that it would "would unacceptably hamper our efforts to assist some of the most vulnerable people in the world, many of whom are victims of terrorism, and would undermine our partners in the Middle East and Europe in addressing the Syrian refugee crisis."
House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters Thursday that the White House veto threat "baffles" him.
"I just, for the life of me, don't understand why his veto threat came as it did, especially given the fact that his own law enforcement top officials came to Congress and testified that there are gaps in this refugee program," Ryan said.
Pelosi before House vote on #SyrianRefugees: "This bill does not make us safer, does not reflect our values & does not have my support."— Lisa Mascaro (@LisaMascaro) November 19, 2015
The Senate is not set to immediately act; it will not take up the bill until after Congress returns from a Thanksgiving recess in December.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that "press[ing] pause" on the admission of refugees to the U.S. was "the most responsible thing for the administration to do right now."
As House lawmakers voted on the legislation, a State Department official testified before House lawmakers and defended the refugee resettlement program, as well as the current screening process.
"We screen applicants rigorously and carefully in an effort to ensure that no one who poses a threat to the safety and security of Americans is able to enter our country," Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard told the House Judiciary Committee.
Richard said that the current screening process, which takes roughly 18-24 months, includes efforts by multiple federal intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies, including the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center, and the Departments of Homeland Security, State and Defense.
In the Senate, lawmakers turned their attention to a bill sponsored by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Republican Sen. Jeff Flake that would close a loophole in the current visa policy that many Democrats in the Senate suggest is a more pressing security threat. Currently, citizens of nearly 40 countries can enter the United States on visits of fewer than 90 days without obtaining a visa. The bill would require visas for any individual who had been in Iraq or Syria in the past five years.
We must tighten loopholes in the Visa Waiver prgm, ensure passports can’t be faked & stop terrorists who want to exploit the system.— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) November 19, 2015
"This program is important to the business community and the tourism industry and I have supported it, but I also believe it is the soft underbelly of our national security policies," Feinstein, a California Democrat, said.
Asked whether Senate Democrats could follow the Syrian refugee legislation in the House, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid put it bluntly: "I don't think we'll be dealing with it over here," he said.