|
 The Kentucky lawmaker, a 2016 presidential candidate, ended his
roughly 10-and-a-half-hour speech just shy of midnight. As the hours
passed, he was joined by other legislators, including Democrat Ron
Wyden, who also want to convince the Senate not to extend provisions
of the USA Patriot Act that provide the legal basis for the
collection of billions of telephone call records.
"We shouldn't be so fearful that we're willing to relinquish our
rights without a spirited debate," Paul said.
Paul was also joined by a laudatory Ted Cruz, who is also running
for the White House, before yielding the floor at around 11:50 p.m.
Although Republicans control both the Senate and House of
Representatives, lawmakers have been unable to agree on how to deal
with the June 1 expiration of the provisions.
The data collection program was exposed two years ago by former
National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.
Opponents say it infringes on Americans' privacy rights, while
supporters see it as a means to protect the country from security
threats.
If Congress does not pass legislation to continue or reform current
surveillance powers before leaving town on Friday for a 10-day
recess, legal authorities used to collect the data will lapse. It is
unclear if Congress would be willing to put new powers in place.
The House voted 338-88 last week to approve another bill, the USA
Freedom Act, which would end bulk data collection and replace it
with targeted information retrieval. President Barack Obama would
sign the measure into law if it reaches his desk.
[to top of second column] |
The legislation has yet to be voted on in the Senate, where Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell said he favored renewing the Patriot Act as
is, calling it essential to the safety of Americans.
Paul and Wyden promised to block even a short-term extension of the
program.
McConnell said on Tuesday the Senate had "an obligation" to address
the expiration and would deal with it this week. He said he would
allow a vote on the USA Freedom Act.
An official who has followed congressional discussions on the issue
said that, given the political complications, he did not see how it
would be possible for Congress to approve any surveillance
legislation before June 1.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Curtis Skinner; Editing
by Susan Heavey, Will Dunham and Andrew Hay)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
