“The rushed and chaotic withdrawal created a potential loophole for bad actors to be admitted into the United States. So if you’re interested in our national security, which I know we all are, this amendment establishes a critical vetting process to reduce the threats,” Moran said. “Failing to pass this amendment, failing for this bill to become law, means that none of the refugees will undergo the necessary additional vetting.”
But even if the Afghan Adjustment Act was included in the Senate version of the NDAA, it’s unclear whether it would be in the final bill negotiated by both chambers of Congress. Although it has relatively widespread support among Senate Republicans, including those on the more conservative end of the spectrum, it has limited support among GOP representatives in the lower chamber. Of the 10 House Republicans who co-sponsored the bill last year, three have since left Congress and one is a nonvoting delegate.
Representative Michael McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for the withdrawal from Afghanistan and highlighted the plight of Afghan allies left behind. But McCaul was not a sponsor of the Afghan Adjustment Act last year, and a spokesperson did not return a request for comment on his opinion on the newly reintroduced bill. Meanwhile, House Republicans have been focused on taking the Biden administration to task on issues of border security, which could cloud any bipartisan effort to assist Afghan evacuees already in the U.S.