Pelosi: US needs ‘more substantial’ response to Syrian refugee crisis

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called Thursday for a more robust U.S. response to the escalating Syrian refugee crisis.

{mosads}Secretary of State John Kerry is eyeing a move to increase the number of refugees the U.S. accepts next year by at least 5,000 — and perhaps by many thousands more — to help Europe manage the flood of Syrians fleeing the country’s four-year-long civil war, according to numerous reports.

Pelosi said the figure of 5,000 is inadequate, and called on policymakers to launch talks about a more appropriate response.

“This is really important. I think 5,000 is far too low a figure. But this is a subject we have to discuss,” Pelosi said during a press briefing in the Capitol.

Pelosi noted that the United States accepted tens of thousands of refugees fleeing Asia in the wake of the Vietnam War. She suggested the Syrian crisis is of similar magnitude, and that the Obama administration should be more welcoming as an example to the world.

“When the U.S. took the lead on that [Vietnam crisis], other countries followed suit,” Pelosi said. “We see Germany taking the lead on this. I hope that other countries will follow suit and that we will do something more substantial.”

She did not suggest what higher figure would be appropriate.

“We have to have a conversation about it,” she said. “It’s not just about the number, it’s about the reason why, and what our moral responsibility is, as well.”

Millions of Syrians have fled their country since the start of the civil war there in 2011. Most have settled in the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, but many thousands more have streamed through Turkey and across the Mediterranean Sea into Europe, leaving European leaders scrambling for ways to manage the deluge.

Some countries, including Germany and Australia, have agreed to take in thousands of displaced Syrians to relieve some of the pressure. The United States, by contrast, has accepted just 1,500 since the war started, with an expected 1,800 resettled by Oct. 1, according to the State Department.

That number could go up next year.

In fiscal year 2016, which begins Oct. 1, the administration has signaled it wants to hike the number of refugees it will accept to at least 75,000 — a jump of 5,000 over this year’s cap. Meeting with lawmakers Wednesday, Kerry said the figure might soar well beyond that, perhaps to 100,000, according to various reports.

The figure governs the number of refugees worldwide, not just those from Syria.

Lawmakers in both parties have pressed the administration to take bolder steps in light of the magnitude of the Syrian crisis.

“Today’s global refugee crisis is historic in its size and scope. It warrants a response commensurate with our nation’s role as a humanitarian leader,” Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.), senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday in a statement. “We must do more.”

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), a 2016 presidential contender, is pushing legislation to provide emergency funding to help address the crisis. And Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), head of the Foreign Relations Committee, has the issue on his radar, as well.

But Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), while acknowledging the crisis Wednesday, said there are no immediate plans to address the issue in Congress. Instead, he blamed President Obama for helping to foster the hostile conditions that have forced the Syrians to flee.

“The president’s lack of strategy with regard to ISIS and what’s happening in Syria is causing a worldwide problem,” he said. “This refugee crisis in Europe is serious. It needs to be dealt with. How we deal with it and what our role is in trying to help resolve it, frankly, is unclear to me at this moment.”

Pelosi said she’s been in recent discussions with Boehner on Iran and the budget, but “we did not yet get to that subject” of Syrian refugees.

This story was updated at 4:02 p.m.