US official defends Syrian refugee program; House vote nears

November 19, 2015 at 10:10 a.m. | Updated November 19, 2015 at 10:20 a.m.

by Associated Press

From left, Assistant Secretary with the State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne Richard, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Leon Rodriguez, and Seth Jones, International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation, are sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, prior to testifying before the House Judiciary Immigration and Border Security subcommittee hearing to examine the Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on the security of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
From left, Assistant Secretary with the State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne Richard, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Leon Rodriguez, and Seth Jones, International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation, are sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, prior to testifying before the House Judiciary Immigration and Border Security subcommittee hearing to examine the Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on the security of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) - A State Department official is defending America's refugee resettlement program - hours before a House vote on legislation that would raise new hurdles for Syrian and Iraqi refugees entering the United States.

Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard tells a House Judiciary Committee panel that refugees face intensive screening by several federal intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies, including the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center.

The House bill was written after Islamic State militants killed 129 people in Paris.

The measure would require the FBI to conduct background checks on Syrian and Iraqi refugees. It would require the heads of the FBI and Homeland Security Department and the director of national intelligence to certify that each refugee is not a threat to national security.

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