Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Safety of every American comes first

A weekly feature from Mississippi Congressman Steven Palazzo, 4th Congressional District


Congressman Steven Palazzo (R-Mississippi)
Congressman Palazzo's message reads load and clear: "The terrorist attacks that took place last week in Paris were devastating and I’m deeply saddened for this world we live in. I continue to pray for the city of Paris and for the families of those who lost loved ones during this tragedy.

What happened in Paris is also a brutal reminder of just how dedicated our enemy is in fighting this war against us. We are under attack. Across the globe and here at home, we are being targeted. We must fight back. And we must do more.

The President of the United States, on the very day ISIS attacked Paris, argued that ISIS had been contained. He was wrong. The President has been wrong on ISIS from the very beginning and he is wrong now.

Now the Administration wants to bring in 10,000 Syrian refugees to the United States. Refugees who even the Director of the FBI says cannot be fully vetted. We cannot allow this to happen.

This week in the House we took immediate action by passing the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act of 2015, that effectively halts the Syrian refugee program.

This bill will ensure the highest level of scrutiny is placed on every single Syrian refugee and effectively halt this program until we can ensure Americans are protected. While there is much more to be done, this is a powerful first step to stopping dangerous terrorists from reaching our soil.

Yet, the President, our commander-in-chief, the one person charged with protecting the U.S. homeland above all others, has threatened to veto this bill.
  • I dare him. 
  • I dare the president to veto this bill because he is angrier at Republicans than at the terrorists. 
  • I dare him to veto this bill because he thinks his strategy is working, despite the devastation in Paris. 
  • I dare the president of the United States to tell the citizens of the United States that he is more concerned with Syrian refugees than the safety of the American people.


More than half of our states’ governors, including Governor Bryant, also made announcements this week that they would not allow Syrian refugees to be placed in their state. In support of this, I introduced my own legislation that would provide states clear federal authority to opt out of the Syrian refugee program.

We have no fool-proof way of vetting these refugees and state officials should have the right to protect their citizens. My legislation would serve as an insurance policy for the governors to use if the President continues to ignore the will of the American people."

Concluded Palazzo, "Our national security is being threatened and we need leadership. As commander and chief, the president's number one constitutional responsibility is the common defense of this nation against all enemies, both domestic and foreign.

The president may not take his constitutional responsibilities seriously, but I do. And I say it’s time to start taking care of the American people."

Contact Congressman Palazzo on facebook, twitter or by visiting his website.
_________________________________________

Become a Truth Serum Partner Now