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America has always been a nation willing to accept those displaced by war or religious and political persecution, but gross and widespread incompetence from the Obama Administration, coupled with Islamic extremists and terrorists preying on and taking advantage of that spirit of compassion, has made this increasingly difficult. As the refugee crisis in the Middle East grew, I warned President Obama of the national security implications of his disastrous policies. In recent months, as attacks occurred in Paris and San Bernardino, our intelligence community and law enforcement officials have stated that we could not ensure that those affiliated with a terrorist organization do not use this crisis to their advantage and try to gain entry to the United States. Yesterday, I voted to force this administration to take refugee screening seriously and prevent our refugee programs from being exploited by ISIS or other terrorist groups. Senate Democrats are clearly more interested in the politics of this issue than its national security implications, and that’s why they blocked this bill from being considered.
 
Even if just one person is a terrorist among the millions of refugees fleeing violence and persecution in the Middle East, allowing that one person in is a national security risk we cannot accept. We need to strengthen the screening process for refugees from Iraq and Syria by ensuring that intelligence, national security and law enforcement officials are all in agreement and working together to check the background of each refugee that comes to our shores.