Fear....

House poised to approve Syrian refugees bill

The bill will see near unanimous support from Republicans and broad support from Democrats.

By Lauren French and John Bresnahan

Less than a week after terrorists killed more than 100 people in Paris, the House is set to approve a bill Thursday that seeks to block Syrian and Iraqi refugees from entering the country unless they pass strict background checks.

The bill has near unanimous support from Republicans and broad support from Democrats — even as the Obama administration made a last-minute pitch to persuade House Democrats who are on the fence to oppose the GOP-written bill.

And while Senate Democrats could block the House-passed refugee bill, the question of how to handle Syrian refugees could set up a contentious fight in a must-pass December budget measure.

On Thursday, the White House dispatched chief of staff Denis McDonough and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to Capitol Hill to speak with Democrats just hours before the House vote.

It was clear, lawmakers said, that the White House is trying to keep the number of Democratic defections low. And it will largely fall on the Obama administration to convince lawmakers to oppose the bill.

But early signs are not good for the White House.

"I mean Denis is here, he doesn't come up here too often," said one House Democrat. The White House handed out talking points and charts mapping out the process refugees go through to enter the U.S.

Another senior Democratic source said it’s going to be a “very bad” count for the Obama administration.

Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) said he was still undecided on which way to vote but was not swayed by Johnson’s pitch to Democrats that the Homeland Security Department doesn’t have time to certify refugees.

“If you look at the bill, it’s hard to see how it’s as awful as the administration is portraying it as,” Peters said.

Multiple sources said McDonough and Johnson's "in the weeds" presentation didn't receive wide support in the room.

Sources said Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) pushed back saying the issue IS "toxic" — even if Democrats oppose the Republican bill on policy grounds — because of the complicated messaging surrounding the national security issue. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas also questioned whether the opposition from the White House was wise for rank-and-file members of the caucus.

Rep. Gerry Connolly said White House officials didn't make an effective pitch during the meeting with Democrats. He urged them to drop their opposition to the Republican bill.

"It's one more assurances that those coming into the country are screened," the Virginia Democrat said of the GOP-sponsored measure. "That seems to me not an imprudent measure under the circumstances."

House Democratic leaders urged their colleagues to oppose the legislation but are not formally whipping colleagues. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) made an informal whip count Wednesday night to gauge where the caucus is.

"Nobody is asking you to do anything but listen," Pelosi told lawmakers during the closed-door meeting Wednesday, according to sources in the room.

Pelosi is pushing hard for Democrats to support a procedural move known as a motion to recommit. That move — essentially a Democratic alternative — would require the Department of Homeland Security only to certify that refugees have passed requirement standards.

It was drafted by Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the ranking member on the Homeland Security Committee, and California Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the top Democrat on a Judiciary subcommittee tasked with immigration.

The hope is that robust support for the Democratic procedural gambit would dampen support for the Republican bill.

But Democratic insiders expect 60 members of their caucus to support the GOP measure. Some rank-and-file Democrats are concerned about looking soft on national security. Already the Blue Dog Coalition — a group of moderate Democrats — has announced that it will support the bill.

The legislation, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act, would require the FBI, Homeland Security Department and director of national intelligence to certify to Congress that any refugee from Syria or Iraq is "not a threat to the security of the United States" before being allowed to settle in the United States. President Barack Obama has proposed allowing 10,000 Syrian refugees to enter the country this year, part of the Western response to the wave of millions of refugees fleeing that country's bloody civil war and Islamic State-related violence.

The White House has threatened to veto the measure, which is sponsored by Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Richard Hudson (R-N.C.). The Senate won't take up the bill until Congress returns in December from the Thanksgiving recess.