RI congressmen defend votes on GOP refugee bill

November 20, 2015 5:35 pm

By: Rebecca Turco

Email: rturco@abc6.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island’s congressmen are defending their votes on a House bill to beef up screening of refugees in light of the Paris – and recent ISIS – terror attacks.

U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) voted against party lines, in favor of the G.O.P. bill, which blocks Syrian and Iraqi refugees from coming to the U.S. until high-level security officials deem they’re not a threat. “I heard nothing that was too onerous in the bill, despite the fact that the White House wanted us to vote a different way,” Langevin explained.

President Obama had threatened to veto the bill, but the bill’s support exceeded two-thirds majority: 289-137.

Langevin feels the bill is necessary to add additional checks and balances. “For those who can come here to the United States and flee that violence, I fully support that, as long as they don’t have nefarious intent,” he said. “And that’s what we want to make sure – that the people of Rhode Island and the people of the United States are protected.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) voted against the bill, claiming all it does is add “A whole other bureaucracy with no additional safety measures.”

He counters that America has been protected from the current 13-step vetting process in place. Now, he argues, it could take even longer than the minimum 18-24 months, for the refugees to find a safe haven.

“If we shut the door on Syrian refugees, we feed into the narrative [and] we actually help the terrorists in this way,” Cicilline explained. “They will be able to market this idea of this Muslim versus non-Muslim narrative.”

The bill moves on to the Senate now, where its fate is less clear.