Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) spoke on the House floor Wednesday for the first time since the Paris coordinated terrorist attacks that killed over 130 people, saying the world stands with France this week.
"These events in Paris should serve as a reminder: There is still evil out there. We cannot ignore it. We cannot contain it. We must defeat it. And we must protect our people," Ryan said.
Following President Obama’s criticism of Republicans for rhetoric that would prove to be a "potent recruitment tool" for the Islamic State, Ryan pushed back that Americans were anxious not because of politicians, but because of terror spreading around the globe.
"The country is uneasy and unsettled, and they have every right to be—not because of what they are hearing from politicians, but because of what they are seeing with their own eyes," Ryan said.
Ryan said the United States has always been and always will be a compassionate nation, but the country’s priority should be to keep its people safe.
"We can be compassionate and we can also be safe," Ryan said. "That’s what the bill that we are bringing up tomorrow is all about. It calls for a new standard of verification for refugees from Syria and Iraq. It would mean a pause in the program until we can be certain without any doubt that those coming here are not a threat. It's that simple and I don’t think it is asking that much."
The Speaker reassured members there would be no religious test for refugees seeking asylum in the U.S. as Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) has suggested. He criticized the lack of strategy in Syria to combat the Islamic State and find a conclusion to the civil war with Assad that is creating the refugee crisis in the first place.