[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15707]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         SYRIAN REFUGEES AND THE OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, recently Secretary Kerry pledged that 
the United States would accept 185,000 refugees from the war-torn 
Syrian area. This would be over 2 years.
  America has been a generous, welcoming country; but I have to tell 
you, while we have compassion for these refugees, Secretary Kerry's 
pledge leaves us with some grave concerns.
  The first is security. How can we verify these refugees do not 
present a threat to our national security? Syria has proven to be a 
fertile recruiting ground for Islamic extremists and terrorists.
  Second, the Office of Refugee Resettlement has not been transparent 
and accountable enough to handle the transfers. Over the past year, I 
have been investigating ORR and found that they have not been filing 
annual reports on their activities as required by law. In addition, 
there is evidence of widespread abuse of refugees, including children, 
who are improperly handled by the ORR. In many instances, a failure to 
refer the abuse to the FBI has allowed child abusers to walk free.
  The curtain must be pulled back completely on the ORR's operations 
before we can trust it with a responsibility as serious as settling 
Syrian refugees in the U.S. We must find the delicate balance and 
protect our safety and security.

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