By the Numbers: How California’s congressional delegation voted on the bill to block Syrian refugees
Eight House Democrats from California crossed party lines Thursday to approve legislation that would effectively halt the resettlement of refugees from Syria and Iraq to the United States.
The decision did not come easy, and lawmakers told the Los Angeles Times about the flood of calls from constituents for and against the measure and how that influenced their votes.
In total, 47 Democrats joined Republicans to back the bill. The 289-137 vote crosses the threshold that would be needed to overcome a presidential veto.
The House bill would require the heads of the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI and the director of National Intelligence to certify that refugees who are admitted pose no security threat.
The White House, which has proposed admitting at least 10,000 refugees to the United States next year from war-torn Syria, vowed to veto Thursday's bill. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton denounced the bill saying, it is "discriminating against Muslims."
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Some of the eight California members who voted for the bill, including Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego), come from potential swing districts where the Syrian refugee issue could come up next November. Aguilar defended his vote in a statement saying the act "strengthens our defense and will enable us to move forward through a safer and more secure process to relocate refugees."
Others heard from immigrants in their district who felt the legislation is unfair.
*Indicates lawmaker crossing party line
House Democrats
YES Rep. Pete Aguilar (Redlands)
NO Rep. Karen Bass (Los Angeles)
NO Rep. Xavier Becerra (Los Angeles)
YES Rep. Ami Bera (Elk Grove)
YES Rep. Julia Brownley (Westlake Village)
NO Rep. Lois Capps (Santa Barbara)
NO Rep. Tony Cardenas (Los Angeles)
NO Rep. Judy Chu (Monterey Park)
YES Rep. Jim Costa (Fresno)
NO Rep. Susan A. Davis (San Diego)
NO Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (Concord)
NO Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (Menlo Park)
NO Rep. Sam Farr (Carmel)
YES Rep. John Garamendi (Walnut Grove)
YES Rep. Janice Hahn (Los Angeles)
NO Rep. Michael M. Honda (San Jose)
NO Rep. Jared Huffman (San Rafael)
NO Rep. Barbara Lee (Oakland)
NO Rep. Ted Lieu (Torrance)
NO Rep. Zoe Lofgren (San Jose)
NO Rep. Alan Lowenthal (Long Beach)
NO Rep. Doris Matsui (Sacramento)
NO Rep. Jerry McNerney (Stockton)
NO Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (Norwalk)
NO Rep. Nancy Pelosi (San Francisco)
YES Rep. Scott Peters (San Diego)
NO Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (Downey)
YES Rep. Raul Ruiz (Palm Desert)
NO Rep. Linda T. Sanchez (Whittier)
NO Rep. Loretta Sanchez (Santa Ana)
NO Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Burbank)
NO Rep. Brad Sherman (Sherman Oaks)
NO Rep. Jackie Speier (Hillsborough)
NO Rep. Eric Swalwell (Dublin)
NO Rep. Mark Takano (Riverside)
NO Rep. Mike Thompson (St. Helena)
NO Rep. Norma Torres (Pomona)
NO Rep. Juan Vargas (San Diego)
NO Rep. Maxine Waters (Los Angeles)
House Republicans
YES Rep. Ken Calvert (Corona)
YES Rep. Paul Cook (Yucca Valley)
YES Rep. Jeff Denham (Turlock)
YES Rep. Duncan Hunter (Alpine)
YES Rep. Darrell Issa (Vista)
YES Rep. Steve Knight (Palmdale)
YES Rep. Doug LaMalfa (Richvale)
YES Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Bakersfield)
YES Rep. Tom McClintock (Elk Grove)
YES Rep. Devin Nunes (Tulare)
YES Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (Costa Mesa)
YES Rep. Ed Royce (Fullerton)
YES Rep. David Valadao (Hanford)
YES Rep. Mimi Walters (Irvine)
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