Late last month the
House of Representatives passed a GOP-authored bill to restrict the admission
of Iraqi and Syrian refugees to America by requiring the addition of extra
security procedures to the already extensive screening and vetting process. The bill, called the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015, or the American SAFE Act of 2015 would
require the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Head of the FBI and the
Director of National Intelligence to sign off on every individual refugee from
Iraq and Syria, affirming he or she is not a threat. The FBI Director would also need to confirm
that a background investigation, separate from the Homeland Security screening,
had been conducted on each refugee. The
bill easily passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 289-137, which
included 47 members of the Democratic Party who crossed the aisle in order to
support their conservative colleges and are now facing increased criticism for
their votes. One of those Democrats was Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney who
represents New York’s 18th District and was the first openly gay person elected
to Congress from New York State. He has
stated that his support for the Republicans came as a result of his belief that
“Americans have a right to know that the process we use to screen refugees will
keep us safe” and that “the [Obama] Administration should agree to immediately
certify refugees if they pass the current extensive screenings”. Rep. Maloney joins me today on the show to
talk all about his vote on the American SAFE of 2015.
On December 11th Amazon
will release the second season of its hit TV show Transparent which is all
about the life and family of a man named Mort, played by Jeffrey Tambor who
transitions into a woman, named Maura. The
show has quickly won critics and audiences over, and its Trans protagonist has
been called a major breakthrough in television.
Joining me today to talk all about the show and how he prepares for
playing the role of Maura is Jeffrey Tambor who has recently won an Emmy and a
Golden Globe for his work on the show. You can also follow Jeffrey on twitter.
Listen to The Michelangelo Signorile Show weekdays live from 3-6 pm ET on SiriusXM Progress 127 and on the SiriusXM iPhone, Blackberry and Android apps. Not a subscriber? Not a problem! Listen online any time with a free thirty-day pass or, if you have an if you have an iPhone or Blackberry, go to the app store and download SiriusXM for free, for a 7-day trial, and listen on your phone.
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