Graves, Loudermilk join House majority in passing American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act

• Rep. Tom Graves joins us at 8:40 a.m. Friday on Hometown Headlines Radio Edition at 98.7 FM or streaming at wrga.streamon.fm.

Media release: U.S. Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA-14) voted for and the House passed the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act (H.R. 4038), legislation requiring the FBI director certify the background investigation of every refugee from Syria and Iraq and requiring that the secretary of Homeland Security, the FBI director and the director of National Intelligence all certify to Congress that each refugee is not a security threat. These additional security features will effectively pause the president’s plan to resettle thousands of refugees in the United States.

“It’s obvious that the threat of militant Islamic terrorism is not, as the president claims, contained,” said Rep. Graves. “One critical part of preventing attacks on American soil is ensuring terrorists posing as refugees do not enter our country, as one of the Paris attackers apparently did. While we are a generous nation, our national security comes first. Heightening our scrutiny of refugees is in line with our values and helps keep us safe.”

Earlier this week, Rep. Graves co-sponsored the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act (H.R. 3314) and the Refugee Resettlement Oversight and Security Act (H.R. 3573), bills that also address the national security concerns surrounding the Obama administration’s plan to resettle thousands of Syrian refugees in the United States. Click HERE for more information.

Media release: U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) issued the following statement today after voting in favor of H.R. 4038, theAmerican Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015 (SAFE Act). This legislation would require comprehensive background checks for all Syrian and Iraqi refugees prior to entering the United States:

“Regardless of how desperately the President wants to bury his head in the sand and ignore the fact that the United States is the primary target of radical Islamic terrorists, his primary responsibility is to protect the American people. If he won’t take action to keep Americans safe, then we will! Today Congress took the first of many steps to halt the President’s reckless plan to resettle Syrian refugees in the United States, by passing the SAFE Act, which I am co-sponsoring. This bill takes a major step in preventing terrorists from exploiting the President’s majorly flawed resettlement program by posing as refugees to enter the United States. We must do our best to protect our families from being open targets of ISIS operatives, who have already stated they will hide ‘as wolves among the sheep’ to get into the U.S. While many Syrian refugees present no imminent harm to our nation, the President’s program is not for temporary refuge; it is a permanent resettlement program, which allows permanent residency in the United States. American people are wary of the possible doorway this overly generous resettlement program will open up for violent radical Islamists to integrate into communities across our nation. This bill will put a pause on the program, and keep government agencies accountable to both the American people and Congress. We shouldn’t have to live in fear for our lives because of the Administration’s lack of leadership and governance.

“At a time when terror is gripping the world, we should not give refugees a free ticket to cross our borders without an extremely thorough vetting process. Improperly vetted, Syrian and Iraqi refugees pose a real and dangerous threat to the United States. Without the ability to perform extensive background checks, especially in Syria and Iraq, it is downright reckless to allow a free flow of refugees to flood our shores. As a member of the House’s special task force on foreign fighter travel, I will continue to aggressively pursue every possible measure to stop the president from putting Americans at risk, and to eliminate ISIS and other radical Islamist terrorist organizations.”