{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://comstock.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/comstock-statement-president-s-oval-office-address", "Comstock Statement on Presidents Oval Office Address", "2015-12-07", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "VA", "Barbara Comstock", "C001105", "comstock.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC - Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (VA-10) released the following statement after President Obamas Oval Office address last night on the ongoing war with ISIS:\nOurfirst responsibility in Congressis to keep the American people safe during this time of ever increasing threatsfromradical Islamic terrorism and Islamist extremism. Recently we passed the NDAA legislation that the President signed which requires him to have a clear strategy in dealing with ISIS. Unfortunately,last nightdespite two recent deadly terrorist assaults in Paris and in San Bernardinowe did not heara President who seems to appreciate the magnitude of the threat we are facing and did not offermuch in terms of strategy.\nHowever, in the House of Representatives, we will move forward this week andvote to update the visa waiver programto deny visa waiver status to citizensin anyof our 38 partner countries who have traveled to terrorist associated countries like Syria. Thousands of foreign fighters have moved freely between ISIS controlled territory and European countries, and we cannot make the same mistakes.\nBefore Thanksgiving,the House took swift action andvoted on a bill that addressed the Syrian refugee crisis. This bill pauses the Syrian and Iraqi refugee programuntil the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the FBI, and the Director of National Intelligence unanimously certify that each individual applicant does not pose a threat to national security or the safety of the American people.\nWe must also reinvigorate our national security and intelligence capabilities that have been weakened over the last few years.AfterSeptember 11thwewere told that al Qaeda was at war with us, but we werent at war with them. Now it is clear that ISIS is also at war with us  and they are not just abroad, they are here already. As former British Prince Minister Tony Blair said when he spoke to us last week, we must have an active policy of engagement that is sophisticated and informed by our experience  not incapacitated by it.\nThis threat is at our door. In the 10thDistrict of Virginia we already had a 17-year-old criminally charged for recruiting for ISIS online. Defeating ISIS is a necessity. Understanding the scope of the larger threat of terrorism and Islamist extremism and how it must be uprooted will be the challenge of our time.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://comstock.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/comstock-statement-president-s-oval-office-address"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.530742971226573, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}