WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) joined the Middle East Refugee Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act introduced by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), as a cosponsor. Earlier this week, Murphy led a group of 28 Senate Democrats in calling for immediate consideration of emergency funding to provide humanitarian relief to Syrian refugees and to increase the capacity for refugee admissions to the United States. The letter, addressed to bipartisan leaders of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee, emphasized that organizations aiding Syrian refugees are on the verge of running out of money, and that if the United States and our partners fail to fill funding gaps, refugee families will lose access to basic services like food and shelter.

“I’m proud to cosponsor Senators Graham and Leahy’s bipartisan emergency appropriations bill to address the growing refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe,” said Murphy. “I visited a refugee camp last month and have seen firsthand the horror through which hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children are living. The United States has a responsibility – not only to our partners and allies, but to our consciences – to step up and do our part. I will proudly stand alongside Republicans and Democrats to get this to the finish line.”

“The United States has a long tradition as a safe haven for innocent families fleeing troubled parts of the world. Throughout history, America’s willingness to aide those forced out of their homes has set us apart as a nation, and it's why the United States is a beacon of freedom for people around the world,” Murphy added.

Last month, Murphy and U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.) traveled to Jordan, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, where they held meetings with officials to discuss ongoing anti-ISIL military operations in Iraq and Syria, and the spiraling humanitarian crisis resulting from those conflicts. As the United States considers additional refugees for resettlement, U.S. security considerations remain paramount. Before being permitted to enter the United States, all admitted refugees undergo extensive background checks and vetting of their biographic and biometric data against a broad array of U.S. law enforcement and counterterrorism databases.