Virtually every political discussion taking place prior to Nov. 13, when terrorists killed more than 100 people in Paris, has been put on the back burner as Americans and people around the world focus on the debate over what to do with war refugees from Syria.

In the week since the attacks, scores of U.S. governors have said that they will not accept refugees, and many Americans have questioned a pledge made earlier this year by President Barack Obama that the country would take in 10,000 Syrian refugees this year.That pledge became much more controversial after rumors emerged that one of the Paris attackers had posed as a refugee in order to get out of Syria prior to the attacks.This week, Congressman Lou Barletta has a majority of Congress supporting a bill that would require additional background screenings of refugees before they are allowed into the United States.The bill, of which Barletta is a co-sponsor, has been passed with a veto-proof majority."I believe (ISIS) when they say they are coming, and that they will use the refugee program as one method of entering this country," he said.The issue has also found its way into state politics.While more than 30 governors stated their intention to reject refugees until they can be more thoroughly screened, Gov. Tom Wolf has taken the opposite approach, arguing that he cannot ignore federal law and accept the refugees.In a letter explaining his decision, Wolf defended the federal government's existing policy. Refugees' applications for resettlement are reviewed by officials from the U.N., Department of State, and U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services in a process that takes between 12-16 months, Wolf wrote.He pointed out that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the process that refugees face more stringent than any other avenue of entering the United States."Our commonwealth can be a safe haven for refugees fleeing the humanitarian crises across the world, and as we have for centuries, we must work with the federal government to make sure all proper safeguards are in place," Wolf wrote to Republican lawmakers.About 90 Republican legislators responded in a letter saying they were "disturbed" with Wolf's position.Among them were state Reps. Doyle Heffley and Jerry Knowles.They echoed their fellow Republicans from across the country in requesting that the federal government implement increased screening for refugees coming from Syria.Heffley said at a townhall meeting on Friday that many of the refugees are men of military age and there is no effective way to check their backgrounds."We can't get the most basic background on these folks," he said. "You can't just call the Syrian DMV."Security isn't the only reason that GOP legislators are telling Wolf to change his policy. They estimate that the cost to accept 10,000 refugees would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars."The citizens of Pennsylvania should not have to bear the consequences of such a flawed national policy and your flawed state policy," they wrote.