Blaine's Bulletin: Keeping America Secure

Statement

Providing for the common defense of our nation is one of the explicit duties given to the federal government by the United States Constitution. Now more than ever, as terrorists fueled by Islamic extremism attack America and her allies at home and abroad, it is critical that our government exercise this constitutional duty to keep America safe and secure. While the administration has not proposed a clear strategy to defeat our enemies yet, Congress has passed important measures to keep the American people and our homeland safe in recent weeks.

Following the tragic terrorist attacks in Paris, the House of Representatives acted quickly to pass legislation that I co-sponsored to require homeland security and law enforcement officials, including the FBI Director, to certify that refugees entering our country from Syria or Iraq do not pose a threat to the United States. In the absence of the ability to make such a certification, the legislation would halt the admission of refugees from Syria and Iraq.

Despite a primetime speech, the president has yet to signify any concrete efforts the White House will take to ease the concerns of Americans and protect our security on this issue. Following the speech, the Wall Street Journal wrote, "Mr. Obama didn't announce an overhaul of his counterterrorism strategy or any sweeping changes in the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq and Syria against Islamic State." Instead, the speech left Americans wondering what exactly the President's plan is moving forward. The fact is the Obama Administration has not shown any leadership in combatting ISIS.

My colleagues in the House and I will continue to take action. One commonsense measure we are taking is to strengthen and reform our visa system. Right now under the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, passport holders from many friendly countries may enter the United States without having to secure a visa for up to 90 days. A number of the Paris terrorists held French and Belgian citizenship and had traveled to Syria and Iraq before returning to Europe.

Accordingly, this week the House passed the Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation which would help the United States identify and stop foreign fighters with Western passports from entering the United States. It is simply commonsense that we should not admit people to our country, even if they hold passports from Western nations, if they have traveled to Syria and Iraq without a very high level of scrutiny and security checks. This legislation would also address existing security gaps in our program by allowing the Department of Homeland Security to suspend visa waivers for countries that do not comply with heightened security screening set in place by the United States and also allow for the suspension of visa waiver agreements for countries that do not share relevant information with the U.S. intelligence community.

Despite the fact the National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law by the President not too long ago, states the President must lay out a plan on how to defeat ISIS -- he has thus far not delivered on this commitment. As a result, the House will continue to show leadership in keeping American secure and exercising the constitutional duty to provide for the common defense.

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