Rep. Cook Cosponsors Bill to Halt President's Refugee Push into Communities

WASHINGTON – Rep. Paul Cook (R- Apple Valley) announced today he is a cosponsoring H.R. 4731, the Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act of 2016.

The legislation makes much needed reforms to improve and modernize the refugee program. It restores congressional power by giving Congress, rather than the President, the authority to decide how many refugees to admit. The bill also gives the states a voice in the resettlement process by prohibiting resettlement in a state or locality that has formally disapproved of the program. In addition, HR 4731 takes measures to combat both the fraud that has plagued the system and addresses threats to national security that have raised much concern in the past several months. It requires termination of refugee status if a resettled refugee returns to the country from which they fled, absent a change in country conditions.

Rep. Cook said, “Fears of terrorists slipping through our refugee screening process isn’t just idle speculation, we’ve already seen it happen. Our screening system is inadequate and America’s safety and security must come first. We can’t allow the federal government to override the will of our local communities by relocating potentially dangerous individuals into our neighborhoods. This bill helps bring some much-needed common sense reform to the refugee situation while ensuring we look out for the safety of our homeland.”

A member of the House Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, Natural Resources Committees, Cook served as an infantry officer and retired after 26 years as a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. During his time in combat, he was awarded the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.