Dems block bill to increase refugee screening

The Senate voted 55-43 to advance the measure, and fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance it to a final vote, leaving it effectively dead in the upper chamber. Democrats voted against the bill even though late last year it passed with a veto-proof, bipartisan majority in the House.

Democrats moved to dodge a politically difficult vote by shifting the spotlight to the Republican front-runner, who has called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country in response to recent terrorist attacks in the United States and Europe.

“Republican leaders have pledged loyalty to Donald Trump and his disgraceful policies,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. “As a front-runner for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump and his proposals are leading the public debate in this country. Republicans should be prepared for the next logical step, voting on his vision for America.”

Reid said Democrats would refrain from blocking the refugee screening bill only if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., would allow a vote on an amendment to “denounce Donald Trump’s reprehensible proposal to impose a religious test on admission into the United States.”

Democrats also called for a vote on an amendment that would prohibit people on the FBI’s terror watch list from purchasing firearms and explosives, a measure the GOP opposes. They also pitched amendments to provide more funding and training for law enforcement to combat terrorism in the United States.

“Let’s have a real debate about making America safe,” said Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill. “Let’s zero in on ISIS, on terrorism and on the real threat to the United States.”

McConnell, who spoke to reporters ahead of the vote, said he would allow an open amendment process, which would give Democrats a chance to offer their amendments, but subject to a 60-vote threshold for passage. Durbin told the Washington Examiner they wanted McConnell to agree to a 51-vote threshold for their amendments.

Cornyn called the Democratic amendment relating to Trump “cynical,” and said presidential politics should be excluded from the debate on the bill.

Republicans broadly rejected the Democrats’ proposal by arguing that the refugee screening bill was needed to prevent would-be terrorists from using the program to gain entry into the United States. Both the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have admitted the current screening program may not be sufficient to prevent terrorists from getting in.

“If you have the directors of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security saying there are risks and concerns about refugees from Syria coming into the United States, I would say we ought to listen to them,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas.

The bill would require every incoming refugee from Iraq and Syria to be certified by the the directors of the FBI and Homeland Security as well as the Director of National Intelligence. Democrats said the stricter screening guidelines would make it impossible to proceed with the refugee program.

Proponents of the bill argued that the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris late last year were carried out by at least one individual posing as a Syrian refugee, and that the United States has flagged several terrorism suspects attempting to enter the country through the refugee program.

“Clearly we need to update and reform the current systems in place,” said Sen. David Vitter, R-La.

President Obama had vowed to veto the legislation.

Before the vote, McConnell noted that the legislation received broad bipartisan support in the House, where 47 Democrats voted for it, enough to override a veto. McConnell suggested the Obama administration is pressuring Senate Democrats to block a potentially veto-proof measure from landing on his desk.

“I understand that the political pressure to oppose this balanced bill may be intense, but it’s also intensely short-sighted and I urge our Democratic friends to resist it,” McConnell said.