Press Releases

Washington D.C. (November 19, 2015) | Rep. Loudermilk (R-GA) issued the following statement today after voting in favor of H.R. 4038, the American 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."

Background on H.R. 4038:

H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015, passed the house by a vote of 289 to 137. This bill requires the Director of the FBI to verify background checks have been thoroughly administered for all Syrian and Iraqi refugees prior to admittance to the United States. Under this legislation, the FBI must also certify to the Department of Homeland Security and National Intelligence that foreign refugees do not pose a direct threat to national security.