American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. PALAZZO. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend from South Carolina for the time.

Mr. Speaker, we are under attack. Across the globe and here at home, we are being targeted. We are at war. The enemy has brought war to us. And make no mistake about it, this enemy is radical Muslim extremism.

Last week in Paris, we saw a brutal reminder of just how dedicated our enemy is in fighting this war against us. We must fight back, and we must do more. The United States of America must do more.

The President of the United States, on the very day ISIS attacked Paris, argued that ISIS had been contained. He was wrong. Last year, the President called ISIS the JV team. He was wrong. The President has been wrong on ISIS from the very beginning, and he is wrong now. Where is the strategy? Where is the willpower? Where is the leadership?

Two years ago, Secretary of State John Kerry testified in front of the House Armed Services Committee about the need to arm Syrian rebels. I questioned this decision because we had no way of vetting these rebels. I told Secretary Kerry at the time: ``America is just not buying what you are selling.'' Two years later, the administration has shut down the arming of Syrian rebels because it was completely ineffective.

Now, the administration wants to bring in 10,000 Syrian refugees to the United States, refugees who even the Director of the FBI says cannot be fully vetted. We cannot allow this to happen

Mr. Speaker, today we are going to pass a strong piece of legislation to protect the American people. The SAFE Act will ensure the highest level of scrutiny is placed on every single Syrian refugee and effectively stop this program until we can ensure Americans are protected. I believe we should do more, but this is a powerful first step to stopping dangerous terrorists from reaching our soil.

The President, our Commander in Chief, the one person charged with protecting the U.S. homeland above all others has threatened to veto this bill. I dare him. I dare the President to veto this bill because he is angrier at Republicans than he is terrorists. I dare him to veto this bill because he thinks his strategy is working, despite the devastation in Paris. I dare the President of the United States to tell the citizens of the United States that he is more concerned with Syrian refugees than the safety of the American people. I dare him.

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