The U.S. House today defied a presidential veto threat and overwhelmingly passed a bill that would improve the vetting process for the 10,000 Syrian refugees expected to come to the U.S. over the next year.
Forty-seven Democrats joined all but two Republicans in passing the measure by a 289-137 margin, enough to override the veto that President Barack Obama promised. Republican Reps. Walter Jones of North Carolina and Steven King of Iowa joined the 135 Democrats that voted against the bill, reported the Hill.
The measure, rushed through in response to last week's terrorist attacks in Paris, would halt the admission of Syrian and Iraqi refuges until they undergo a more stringent vetting process.
The nation's three top security officials — the secretary of Homeland Security, director of the FBI and director of national intelligence — would be required to certify to Congress that each Syrian or Iraqi refugee is not a security threat prior to being admitted into the country, explained USA Today.
The White House issued a veto threat Wednesday, saying the bill is "untenable and would provide no meaningful additional security for the American people, instead serving only to create significant delays and obstacles in the fulfillment of a vital program that satisfies both humanitarian and national security objectives."
The legislation will now go to the Senate, where Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada has vowed to block the bill, according to the Hill.
The House vote came less than a week after 129 people were killed and 350 more injured in the Paris terrorist attacks, which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for.
A reportedly fake Syrian passport was found next to one of the suicide bombers who blew himself up, indicating he may have disguised himself as a refugee in order to enter Europe through Greece.
The sponsor of the House bill, Republican Rep. Mike McCaul, said an investigation found similar gaps in the United State's refugee vetting process, and that he intended for his bill to establish the most robust national security vetting process in history to ensure terrorists are not able to exploit U.S. humanitarian programs and enter the country, as HNGN previously reported.
