[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18539]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           WE ALL HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY FOR NATIONAL SECURITY

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, this is a long list of the vetting 
process that desperate refugees who happen to come from camps in Jordan 
and Lebanon--and who happen to be Syrian--go through. It is more than 
21. In fact, the last one says: Prior to entry to the United States, 
applicants are subject to screening again from the U.S. Customs and 
Border Patrol. Applicants undergo, in No. 20, a second interagency 
security check. That is after 19 other security checks.
  I want to thank Lutheran Services, Catholic Charities, and Interfaith 
Ministries for recognizing the importance of the face of America to be 
a refuge for those who are worn and desperate.
  I want to join my colleagues to say that we all have a responsibility 
for national security. I hope the Senate will engage in vigorous 
debate, that the President will announce to the world that we are 
fighting ISIS. We are joining allies and taking it to the fight, but we 
must do other things besides denying and stopping innocent refugees 
from coming in, a small, small number: Secure our airports; ensure that 
the back side of the airport is secure; make sure that no foreign 
fighter is able to come into the United States, and I have introduced 
legislation for this. We are not for not protecting. We are for 
protecting, but we must do it in a way that America has been able to 
stand up and be respectful or recognizing, of course, all of those who 
come and struggle.
  Mr. Speaker, Happy Thanksgiving. I know we are a great country, and I 
know they know that we are.

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