The Senate on Wednesday voted against a House-passed bill (H.R. 4038) that would have expanded the screening process for Syrian and Iraqi refugees looking to find sanctuary in the United States.

About the bill

The bill called for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to create a new background check process in order to certify whether refugees from Iraq and Syria seeking sanctuary in the United States pose a threat to national security. Refugees would only be admitted once the FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Director of National Intelligence unanimously certify that they do not pose a threat.

Under the current procedures, refugees are vetted by the United Nations High Commissioner before being referred to the United States, and then they are further screened by the DHS before being granted entrance.

The bill would have created an additional layer of review for refugees from Iraq and Syria, likely pausing the process of allowing them to enter the country. The Obama administration has said they plan on providing sanctuary to at least 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year or so.

What supporters said

“This bipartisan bill would allow Washington to step back, take a breath, and ensure it has correct policies and security screenings in place before moving ahead with the refugee program for Iraq and Syria,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in bringing the bill to the floor.

What opponents said

Many Democrats, however, see the bill as a Republican ploy for delaying the refugee process so that the next President could end the refugee program before any Syrians or Iraqis are actually admitted.

“The bill we are talking about before the Senate … is stressing bureaucracy and paperwork,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said on the Senate floor. “Each refugee who comes to this country — and there are about 100 a day — would have to be signed off by three Cabinet Secretaries. That is 300 personal signatures a day. We don’t want more paperwork.”

The Senate vote

Democrats successfully stymied the bill by attempting to force votes on a handful contentious amendments, including one denouncing Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States.

Reid said that the Democrats would only agree to move forward with the refugee bill if they were allowed to hold votes on four amendments — denouncing Trump’s muslim ban, increasing funding for anti-terror policing, denying gun sales to people on no-fly lists, and a comprehensive anti-ISIS bill put forward by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

McConnell rejected Reid’s offer on amendments, and Reid in turn whipped his caucus to vote against proceeding with the refugee bill. As a result, the bill failed to attract enough votes in the Senate to achieve cloture, a parliamentary procedure used to limit debate and move forward with a motion or a bill. Cloture motions require a 3/5th majority (or 60 votes) to be approved, but the motion only got 55 votes. Two Democrats joined the Republicans in supporting the motion — Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND).