"We should always look for ways to improve security for each of the ways that people enter the U.S. However, the House refugee bill is an overreaction because it adds another layer of bureaucracy to an already-robust screening process that takes an average of two years to complete.

Keeping Virginians safe is my top priority, but we also must look at the facts and address areas where there are clear vulnerabilities, like our visa waiver program. Several of the Paris attackers were French or Belgian citizens who were believed to have visited Syria, and our current visa waiver program allows citizens of many European countries to travel in the United States for up to 90 days without a visa.

That’s why I’m working on legislation that would strengthen the visa waiver program to ‘flag’ those travelers who’ve visited a warzone – requiring them to provide fingerprints, biometric data and other information for background checks long before they ever get on an airplane to come here."