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H.R. 4038 (114th): American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015

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About the bill

A bill that would expand background checks on Iraqi and Syrian refugees hoping to enter the United States has moved quickly through congressional procedures. H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies SAFE Act, received a House vote on November 19, just two days after it was introduced. The vote succeeded 289-137 with almost all Republicans and 47 Democrats voting in favor. The Senate voted down the bill in a cloture vote. The President had said he would veto the bill if it also passed the Senate.

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 ...

Sponsor and status

Photo of sponsor Michael McCaul

Michael McCaul

Sponsor. Representative for Texas's 10th congressional district. Republican.

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Last Updated: Nov 19, 2015
Length: 6 pages
Introduced
Nov 17, 2015
114th Congress (2015–2017)
Status
Died in a previous Congress

This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress but was killed due to a failed vote for cloture, under a fast-track vote called "suspension", or while resolving differences on January 20, 2016.

Cosponsors

103 Cosponsors (102 Republicans, 1 Democrat)

Source
Congress.gov

Position statements

Statement of Administration Policy

President Barack Obama [D, 2009-2017]: American SAFE Act of 2015 (Nov 18, 2015)

What legislators are saying

“Lance Blasts Senate for Failure to Pass Refugee Reform”
    — Rep. Leonard Lance [R-NJ7, 2009-2018] (Co-sponsor) on Jan 20, 2016

“Bucshon: Senate Democrats Block Bill to Keep Americans Safe”
    — Rep. Larry Bucshon [R-IN8] (Co-sponsor) on Jan 20, 2016

“Cardin: Embracing Politics of Fear is No Way to Increase National Security”
    — Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D-MD] on Jan 21, 2016

More statements at ProPublica Represent...

History

Nov 17, 2015
 
Introduced

Bills and resolutions are referred to committees which debate the bill before possibly sending it on to the whole chamber.

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Nov 19, 2015
 
Passed House (Senate next)

The bill was passed in a vote in the House. It goes to the Senate next.

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Jan 20, 2016
 
Failed Cloture in the Senate

The Senate must often vote to end debate before voting on a bill, called a cloture vote. The vote on cloture failed. This is often considered a filibuster. The Senate may try again.

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H.R. 4038 (114th) was a bill in the United States Congress.

A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law.

Bills numbers restart every two years. That means there are other bills with the number H.R. 4038. This is the one from the 114th Congress.

This bill was introduced in the 114th Congress, which met from Jan 6, 2015 to Jan 3, 2017. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.

How to cite this information.

We recommend the following MLA-formatted citation when using the information you see here in academic work:

“H.R. 4038 — 114th Congress: American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015.” www.GovTrack.us. 2015. June 20, 2021 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr4038>

Where is this information from?

GovTrack automatically collects legislative information from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources. This page is sourced primarily from Congress.gov, the official portal of the United States Congress. Congress.gov is generally updated one day after events occur, and so legislative activity shown here may be one day behind. Data via the congress project.