Senate Democrats Halt Syrian Refugee Bill From Advancing
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Senate Democrats have blocked a House-passed bill that would crack down on Syrian and Iraqi refugees coming to the U.S.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) says Republicans refused to allow Democrats to offer amendments to the bill. One of those could have put Republicans on the spot in an election year by forcing them to take sides for or against GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Trump has called for barring Muslims from coming to the U.S.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has also voiced his support for placing a ban on Syrian refugees from entering the country in the wake of the San Bernardino attacks.
"I do not trust this administration to effectively vet the people who are proposed to be coming in in order to protect the safety and security of the American people, so I would not permit them in," Christie said in a phone interview on the Hugh Hewitt show in November 2015.
Christie later reiterated his support of the ban even after a Syrian family settled in New Jersey in late 2015.
The New Jersey governor's comments received backlash from Mayor Bill de Blasio, who called Christie's remarks 'an embarrassment' and later showed a notorious photo of a rescuer holding the body of a young Syrian boy who drowned off the Greek coast at a news conference.
The Senate fell short of the three-fifths needed to move ahead. The vote was 55-43.
The House legislation would require new FBI background checks and individual sign-offs from three high-ranking federal officials before any refugee from Syria or Iraq could come to the United States.
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