House OK of GOP Syrian refugee curbs is just start of fight

Obama has promised to veto the bill; however, because the house has a majority vote, it could potentially override Obama’s veto.

House Democratic leaders are not “whipping” this bill, meaning they are not pressuring members to back the Administration and oppose the bill. The Senate leader said it is the most reasonable course of action.

The legislation requires that the director of the FBI, the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Homeland Security sign off on the background investigations done for each refugee, and assert that the refugees are “not a threat to the security of the United States”. “And we don’t want terrorists to dictate how we run-whether we have a law or not”, Ryan said.

The House passed the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act, or American Safe Act with a bipartisan vote of 289 to 137 with 47 Democrats voting with 242 Republicans, and two Republicans voted against the bill.

Comey said there was no credible threat of an attack on USA soil similar to the one in Paris, but his agency is monitoring dozens of people it has deemed “high-risk” for copying the attack.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, the leading Democratic contender, laid out her own plan to fight the Islamic State, including a no-fly zone to protect Syrians, more use of Special Operations forces, and increased airstrikes.

After the House vote, Obama’s attorney general, Loretta Lynch, called such screening both impractical and impossible.

Republicans said it was simply prudent to place new controls on the refugee system, without ending it entirely or requiring religious tests as a few in the GOP, including presidential candidates, have demanded.

Reid pledged that Senate Democrats would try to block the move to stop resettlements, but Republicans may have leverage.

The White House, which has proposed admitting at least 10,000 refugees to the US this fiscal year from war-torn Syria, said the House bill creates “unnecessary and impractical requirements”, noting the current screening process is already rigorous and takes up to 24 months.

The House bill would “unacceptably hamper our efforts to assist a few of the most vulnerable people in the world”, the White House said in its vow to veto the bill.

Of the 2,174 Syrian refugees who have come to the USA since September 11, 2001, none has been arrested or deported on terrorism-related grounds, the administration said. Among the Democrats who voted for the bill included centrist Blue Dogs, and those facing tough reelection challenges and even Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.). “And yet, what we did really achieves nothing”. Most of the other assailants were European.

Sen. Chris Murphy is a main supporter of a bill unveiled this week that would tighten the “visa waiver” program.

A key difference is that visitors under the waiver program do not have to meet with US officials overseas before coming here. Unlike the steady stream of male migrants flowing into Europe from Syria, the State Department says those admitted to the USA are different demographically.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen.