Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Mike Bost (IL-12) joined nearly all House Republicans and 47 House Democrats in voting for H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act.  The bill requires enhanced screening and background checks for Syrian and Iraqi refugees before being considered for admittance into the United States. 

“America has a proud tradition of providing safe haven to refugees, and we lead the world in humanitarian assistance,” said Rep. Bost.  “But in today’s world, we must put proper measures in place to protect our citizens and keep our country safe.  Sadly, our worst fear that ISIS could exploit a refugee situation to conduct attacks in the West was fully realized in Paris. We must take every step necessary to prevent that from happening here.  That’s why a halt in the refugee program must happen immediately and last until we have a strict background check system in place.”