Nothing gets done in Washington?
Tell that to Kentucky Senator and presidential hopeful Rand Paul. Last night, he single-handily “repealed” Section 215 of the Patriot Act, ending the federal government’s mass collection of our phone records.
At least, for the next few days.
On the floor of the Senate, Paul blocked the USA Freedom Act, a “compromise” bill passed by the House. It would’ve required private telecoms to keep the data, allowing the government to query that data with a warrant.
“I’m supportive of the part that ends the bulk collection by the government,” said Paul. “My concern is that we might be exchanging bulk collection by the government [with] bulk collection by the phone companies.”
In a Time magazine op-ed, he argued, “We should not be debating modifying an illegal program. We should simply end this illegal program.”
Also last week, the Tea Party Patriots joined the ACLU in agreeing with Paul’s position: the USA Freedom Act doesn’t go far enough . . . to protect our civil rights.
Others warn we aren’t safe without maximum snooping and info-scooping by government:
- CIA Director John Brennan called the metadata program “integral to making sure that we’re able to stop terrorists in their tracks.”
- Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the expiration amounted to “a serious lapse.”
- James Clapper, director of National Intelligence — most famous now for lying to Congress about the existence of the metadata program — declared we “would lose entirely an important capability that helps us identify potential U.S.-based associates of foreign terrorists.”
Yet, there’s not a single case where this bulk phone data helped capture a terrorist or stop an attack.
Sen. Paul believes “we can still catch terrorists using the Constitution.”
