Blog: Yesterday, I wrote on the Syrian refugee issue, and mentioned that I had signed onto the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act of 2015 (H.R. 3314)

Statement

Yesterday, I wrote on the Syrian refugee issue, and mentioned that I had signed onto the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act of 2015 (H.R. 3314) offered by Rep. Brian Babin.

Let me return to that subject because the divide of a great debate is forming in Washington.

On the one hand, our country has historically been that bright shining city on the hill that made room for people seeking freedom and refuge from conflicts around the world. This occurred with refugees from conflicts as disparate as World War I or Vietnam. It's occurred after famines, natural disasters, and more.

On the other, it seems fairly obvious that Americans expect their government not to do things that put regular citizens in harm's way or raise the prospects of threat, dangers, or financial peril. Most would call that common sense.

In what's before us, the President wants to plow ahead, and I think he's reckless in attempting to do so. Arguably, it is his level of indecision in Syria that has led to much of the atrocity there…but I'm going off on a tangent. So let's leave aside blame and just assess where we are now, and it's at these sorts of crossroads that I think there is particular wisdom in pausing. Rushed decisions have way of not working out so well…and rushed decisions that involve tens of thousands of people and billions of dollars in financial consideration have a particularly strong way of not working out so well. Doing so doesn't decide a permanent course, but it is about slowing down and thinking through the ramifications of what's being considered. The stakes are especially high when ISIS militants say the United States is their next target.

That's why the direction that seems to be generating steam in Congress seems right to me, and the President's course seems wrong.

Safe havens can be created in Europe and the Middle East. Aid and help can be provided without bringing people across the Atlantic -- and this in fact allows people to go home in much easier fashion when hostilities subside.

If we don't slow down, I fear much more draconian reactions are coming in this country that would much further erode our historic place as refuge for the world -- accordingly, I signed onto two letters and two more bills tied to this issue.

The first letter is from Rep. Brian Babin, and it asks House leadership to include language in the end-of-year omnibus bill about the Syrian refugee resettlement issue. It would stop federal funds from being used to admit refugees into the US from the Middle East and North Africa until we have screening procedures and safety mechanisms firmly in place. The second letter was from Rep. Steve Stivers to Secretary Kerry that requests denying Syrian and Iraqi refugees entrance into the US and to continue doing so until the State Department can properly certify that those refugees are not a safety threat. To justify admission of each person, all information about every asylum seeker would then have to be given to the House and Senate Intelligence and Homeland Security Committees for review.

I am cosponsoring a bill offered by Rep. Richard Hudson that requires the Director of the FBI to certify that background checks have been thoroughly administered on all refugees entering the country. It would also require the Secretary of Homeland Security to affirm that every admitted refugee does not pose a threat to national security.

Finally, I signed on as a cosponsor of the Refugee Resettlement Oversight and Security Act offered by Rep. Michael McCaul. This bill would amend the Immigration and National Security Act -- a law over 60 years old -- so that the President must recommend to Congress how many refugees may be admitted to the United States in a fiscal year. Until Congress sets this number, no refugees could enter. The Department of Homeland Security with the Director of National Intelligence and the FBI would be in charge of determining a refugee's admissibility on security and other grounds and would give preference to refugees from Iraq and Syria who are of a persecuted, religious minority.

Beyond the national security threat, the cost of resettlement is staggering. The Administration estimates that resettling just 10,000 Syrian refugees will cost $1.2 billion…without taking into account the benefits that these refugees will be entitled to collect once they are in the country. In fact, a study by The Heritage Foundation has the net cost of resettling 10,000 refugees at $6.5 billion over the lifespan of those 10,000 with a net cost of $55.25 billion, if the Administration does admit 100,000 more refugees by the end of 2017.

I have gotten many calls on this, and would love to hear what you are hearing as you talk to friends and co-workers on this.

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