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Tomorrow is the big day. The Patriot Act Expires
Congress put expiration dates on the PATRIOT Act for a reason: when emergency powers become permanent, a piece of democracy dies.
Now, the Senate has a choice. They can renew mass spying. Or they can let the NSA’s PATRIOT Act powers expire, by doing the simplest thing ever: nothing.
So why does this matter? Why? Well, in narrow terms, if Congress doesn’t renew section 215 of the PATRIOT Act by 11:59pm on Sunday, the NSA has to stop tracking Americans’ phone calls, or use a weaker legal framework to do so.
The Big Question is what will they do?
Even Rand Paul has stated that he will force the expiration of the patriot act!
Rand Paul plans to force the expiration of the PATRIOT Act Sunday by refusing to allow Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to expedite debate on a key surveillance bill.
In a statement to POLITICO Saturday, Paul warned that he would not consent to any efforts to pass either an extension of current law or the USA Freedom Act, a reform bill passed overwhelmingly by the House earlier this month.
“So tomorrow, I will force the expiration of the NSA illegal spy program,” Paul said.
Because of the nature of the Senate rules, Paul can force the expiration of the PATRIOT Act, which he has vowed on the campaign trail to repeal as president because he contends it invades Americans’ privacy rights.
In a rare Sunday session, McConnell, sources said, appears likely to move the USA Freedom Act, despite his opposition to how the bill overhauls the National Security Agency’s bulk data collection program. That’s because McConnell has little other choice given the vast support within Congress for the bill.
I guess we will find out soon enough.
