[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 395-396]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   DANGERS OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S RECKLESS REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AGENDA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to shed more light on 
President Obama's reckless refugee resettlement agenda and the danger 
that it poses to Americans.
  In my office, we are getting many calls about this as you hear about 
the new plans that he has and also as our constituents watch the news 
of what is happening in Germany and what is happening in other 
communities. Let me cite just a couple of examples.
  Last week, according to The Wall Street Journal and numerous media 
outlets, two refugees from Iraq were arrested for making false 
statements involving terrorism. These arrests took place one in 
California and one in Texas.
  In the California arrest, one refugee came to the U.S. in 2012 and 
subsequently traveled to Syria in November 2013. He bragged in social 
media posts about fighting alongside terrorist groups such as Ansar al-
Islam. This refugee returned to the U.S. a few months later. When 
interviewed by the FBI in October 2014, he denied being a part of any 
extremist group and denied providing materiel support to terrorists.
  What we found in Texas is this. The refugee was charged on three 
counts: attempting to provide materiel support to the Islamic State, 
procuring citizenship or naturalization unlawfully, and making false 
statements.
  This is precisely why President Obama's plan to admit thousands of 
additional Syrian refugees into the country at a time of heightened 
jihadist threats and the San Bernardino massacre is beyond reckless and 
is dangerous to our communities.
  There is no way to vet the refugees that are coming from Syria and 
Iraq and verify that they are the person represented on the documents 
that they carry. Are the documents false, or is the person who they say 
they are or someone else? It proves what many have been saying for 
months about Islamic extremists: they can and will exploit the refugee 
program.
  These arrests showcase what is so painfully obvious to the American 
people: the President's agenda is endangering our national security, 
and it is costing our hardworking taxpayers millions of dollars.

[[Page 396]]

  Let me ask you a few questions:
  Do you feel more or less safe than you did 8 years ago?
  Do you fear the attack of terrorism in your community?
  Do you question your safety when you go to a public event?
  How does the President's foreign policy and our national security 
affect where you work and where you live?
  How can the administration be so naive?
  How can the administration continue to put partisan politics over the 
safety of the American people?
  How can the administration continually refuse to name our enemy?
  Yes, we are at war with radical Islamic extremism. We must confront 
the danger of radical extremism and check the President's irresponsible 
resettlement agenda.
  I want to mention H.R. 4218. It is legislation that I drafted and 
introduced with Representatives Barletta, DesJarlais, and Lamar Smith. 
Under the bill, no funding would be made available for refugee 
resettlement operations until four conditions are met:
  Number one, Congress passes a joint resolution approving of the 
President's refugee resettlement plan;
  Number two, CBO provides a report to Congress scoring the long-term 
cost of the program;
  Number three, DHS submits a report identifying all terrorists and 
criminal activity connected to refugees since 2001;
  And number four, the President submits a report to Congress on the 
prior year's cost of admitting refugees and proposes offset spending 
cuts to pay for the resettlement program.
  We must halt the President's refugee resettlement operations. It is 
simply too dangerous, and we cannot afford the risk to our Nation's 
security.

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