>> From ISIS <<
Cook Votes To Strengthen Security Systems
Washington D.C. ___
Today, Thursday November 19, 2015, Representative Paul Cook (R-Apple Valley)
voted for H.R. 4038, the American
Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act. The Bill passed the House
289-137 with bipartisan support.
Senior U.S. Law
enforcement and intelligence officials have previously expressed concern that
they lack the information necessary to screen Syrian refugees to make sure they
do not have ties to terrorism. The recent attacks in Paris showed weaknesses in
security systems; at least one of the attackers reportedly infiltrated Europe
by posing as a Syrian refugee.
The U.S. Administration admitted 1,682 Syrian refugees during fiscal
year 2015, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has stated that the U.S. will
admit at least 10,000 during fiscal
year 2016.
HR 4038 prohibits the
United States from admitting refugees from Iraq and Syria without a thorough
security screening. Specifically, the Bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, FBI Director, and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to
certify to Congress that each refugee is not a security threat prior to his or
her admission to the United States. It also creates an additional layer of
protection by requiring the DHS Inspector General to assess refugee approvals
independently – ensuring that high risk individuals do not slip through the
cracks.
Representative
Cook said, “With the attacks in Paris, we’ve seen firsthand the dangers posed by
terrorists posing as refugees. We need to remain vigilant in our screening
process to ensure that we are verifying the backgrounds of the individuals and
not allowing ISIS to exploit the system to plan attacks. We need to show the
American people that we are doing everything possible to prevent an attack on U.S.
soil.”