Dick Durbin: “it was just a few weeks ago that--I guess 10 days ago, actually--the Republican Presidential candidates went to the…”

“it was just a few weeks ago that--I guess 10 days ago, actually--the Republican Presidential candidates went to the Presiding Officer's State to meet with religious leaders, Christian leaders, and were seeking their support. Of course they all want the support of everyone living in Iowa because the Iowa caucus is coming up pretty soon. I thought about that as they went to meet these Christian leaders in Iowa, just across the river from my home State of Illinois. I thought about how they had just left their discussions here in Washington, talking about Syrian refugees. The most humbling humanitarian crisis in the world today is occurring in Syria. They have had a civil war which has gone on for years. Millions of people have been displaced and thousands have been killed. I met some of them just a few months ago when I went to Greece and saw these refugees streaming away from the camps in Syria trying to find a safe place. I can't imagine what it must be like for a husband to turn to his wife and say: We have to move. Pick up the kids. Whatever you can carry is all that we are taking. We are going to try to find a safe place to live. I saw hundreds and thousands of them--families streaming out of this war-torn area. Very few of them have ever made it to the United States--about 2,000. Part of the reason is we have an elaborate, lengthy background check before anyone can be admitted as a refugee.…”