Gabbard Votes To Tighten Refugee Screening
The Hawaii congresswoman supports a Republican-led effort to severely restrict admission of Iraqi and Syrian refugees.
Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and 46 other Democrats joined 242 Republicans in the U.S. House on Thursday in passing to America by requiring extra security procedures.
The American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015 would require the secretary of Homeland Security, the head of the FBI and the director of national intelligence to sign off on every individual refugee from Iraq and Syria, affirming he or she is not a threat. It passed on .
Appearing on MSNBC鈥檚 Thursday, Gabbard said of the legislation,聽鈥渋f you鈥檝e got a situation where you have an orphan, or a child, or a single mom who is bringing her kids 鈥 they would probably be vetted very easily.鈥
Republican leaders in the House said it is the first of many bills aimed at addressing security concerns in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks. They say they want a聽“pause” in admitting Syrian and Iraqi refugees, as current applications would be halted while a new vetting process was established.
It’s unclear whether聽the Senate will take up the legislation, but if聽the bill does pass through Congress, President Obama has pledged to veto it.
