Washington, D.C.—Congressman Steve King (IA-05) last night stood firm and voted against the Conference Report to accompany S. 2845 - Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.

In a floor statement, King stressed the importance of closing all legislative loopholes for terrorists looking to enter the country.

“Our national security begins at our borders. I supported the original version of the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act, H.R. 10, which included many immigration reforms that would have greatly improved the security of the United States,” said King.  “The Conference Committee either completely removed most of those provisions or mutilated them beyond recognition.”

The Conference Committee cut provisions from H.R. 10 that were intended to close loopholes for terrorists looking to enter the country. Those provisions removed would have:

▪ Kept illegal aliens from obtaining drivers’ licenses;

▪ Prevented terrorists from exploiting asylum loopholes;

▪ Required that all people entering the U.S. provide secure verification of their identity and citizenship;

▪ Expedited the removal of illegal aliens;

▪ Detained dangerous aliens who cannot be deported; and

▪ Imposed criminal penalties for false claims to citizenship

“This is not a time for partisan politics or turf wars.  If the goal here is truly to improve the security of our nation as best we can, we cannot allow the terrorists to use our own laws against us,” added King.