{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://yoder.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-yoder-votes-to-pause-syrian-refugee-program", "Rep. Yoder Votes to Pause Syrian Refugee Program", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "KS", "Kevin Yoder", "Y000063", "yoder.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC This afternoon, Representative Kevin Yoder (R-KS) joined a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives passing the American SAFE Act to pause the resettlement program for refugees from Iraq and Syria until various intelligence and national security agencies certify to Congress that each refugee is not a threat. The bill passed the House by a 289-137 margin. After voting in favor, Representative Yoder issued the following statement:\nDespite his own Administration officials repeatedly warning that they do not have the resources or information needed to fully vet these refugees, President Obama is stubbornly moving forward with his plan to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees into our country. His proposal is dangerously misguided.\nThe primary duty of the federal government is to protect the American people. In light of the attacks in Paris, now is not the time to open our borders to refugees from countries who want to do us harm. Congress stands ready to use the power of the purse to halt this program should the President defy the will of the American people and veto this bill.\nEarlier this week, Representative Yoder wrote a letter to President Obama demanding that he halt the flow of refugees from Syria or any other nation with ties to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from entering the United States.\nFor the full text of the letter, click here.\n###", 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": ["http://yoder.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-yoder-votes-to-pause-syrian-refugee-program"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0062530636787415, "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"}