House approves bill to pause Syrian refugee program
Proposed in the wake of
the Paris terrorist attacks, the GOP-sponsored bill would require the Homeland Security secretary, FBI director, and director of national intelligence to certify the completion of background checks for all refugees from Iraq and Syria and certify that they they don't threaten U.S. national security.
The bill, sponsored by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, was crafted just this week following last Friday's attacks after authorities said one of the eight terrorists involved had originated in Syria.
Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, both said earlier this week that the plan should be halted until the administration strengthens
the vetting and verification process for incoming refugees.
President Obama, however, is sticking by the plan and defended it in a series of tweets on Wednesday.
The
White House issued a veto threat Thursday on the bill, arguing that the legislation would introduce "unnecessary and impractical requirements" to help vulnerable people and it would provide "no meaningful additional security for the American people."
"It baffles me," Ryan told reporters Thursday morning about the veto threat.
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