Atkins: Reid vows to block bill to add stricter refugee vetting

The White House made it clear last night that if the legislation passes, President Obama will veto it because it would “introduce unnecessary and impractical requirements that would unacceptably hamper our efforts to assist a few of the most vulnerable people in the world”. The GOP has the backing of the American public who is also reluctant of letting in these refuges because they may pose at threat to national security and the country’s safety. Forty-seven Democrats backed the bill.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said Senate Democrats would try to block such a measure.

The bill passed the House by a 289-137 vote yesterday, with 47 Democrats voting in favor of the legislation – including Bay State U.S. Reps.

Press secretary Josh Ernest told reporters in Manila on Friday morning: “Based on what Senator Reid said today it does seem unlikely this legislation will pass the Senate”.

But, according to The Hill, Senate Democrats plan to focus the debate on the millions of people who come into the country on the visa waiver program.

GOP leaders say the bill got such an overwhelming vote in the House that it deserves to come straight to the floor. “They should be done before”, said Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.). Again, this isn’t an imaginary threat, neither here nor in Europe – Reid’s breezy “the problem is not with refugees” assessment notwithstanding.

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), the Senate’s most endangered Democratic incumbent, was non-committal Thursday about supporting the House legislation. “Given all this and given all that’s happened in Paris, it simply makes sense to take a step back for now – to press “pause” – so we can determine the facts and ensure we have the correct policies and security screenings in place”. Harry’s crew is angling to add another notch in their obstructionist belt, with Reid vowing to filibuster a post-Paris bill created to beef up vetting protocols for Syrian refugees – which passed the House with a veto-proof majority, with the help of almost 50 Democrats. Speaking in the Philippines on Wednesday, November 18 President Obama said, “We are not well served when, in response to a terrorist attack, we descend into fear and panic”. Ryan said the security measures are justified, “If our law enforcement and our intelligence community can not verify that each and every person is not a security threat, then they shouldn’t be allowed in”.

Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat from West Virginia, earlier this week signed a letter to Obama urging that no refugee related to the Syrian crisis be admitted to the country unless federal authorities can guarantee they are not supporters or sympathizers of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).