[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18415-18416]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            SYRIAN REFUGEES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, America has a long tradition of opening 
its arms to oppressed people from around the globe. While the human 
rights of those fleeing terror and destruction must be respected, it is 
vital that we work to ensure that our Nation's safety is in place in 
this time of turmoil and unrest.
  The United States cannot indefinitely close itself to the stark 
realities of the world, nor should we hastily accept tens of thousands 
of people without proper screening. That is why I

[[Page 18416]]

have called on Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to suspend efforts to 
bring Syrian refugees to Pennsylvania until there are verifiable and 
robust mechanisms in place to properly screen all participants for 
potential security risks.
  To facilitate the thorough screening needed, I am supporting 
legislation prompting the Department of Homeland Security, in 
coordination with the Director of National Intelligence and the FBI, to 
provide new security assurances before admitting refugees into the 
country and for the Government Accountability Office to conduct a 
sweeping review of security gaps in the current refugee review process. 
This measure addresses both shortcomings in our existing programs and 
ensures a role for congressional oversight.
  Mr. Speaker, the refugee crisis the world faces is a symptom of a 
larger problem: militant Islam and the efforts of groups like ISIS to 
destabilize and destroy others. We need a long-term solution to this 
problem, and that includes defeating ISIS.

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