The future of the National Security Agency's bulk data collection program is unclear following Sen. Rand Paul's 10-plus hour "filibuster," which wrapped up early Thursday morning after Paul repeatedly urged his fellow lawmakers to end the surveillance programs justified under the Patriot Act, or at the very least, conduct a proper debate on the issue.
"At the very least we should debate, we should debate whether or not we are going to relinquish our rights, or whether or not we are going to have a full and able debate over whether or not we can live within the Constitution or whether or not we have to go around the Constitution," Paul, a 2016 presidential candidate, said in criticism of Senate leaders who he says failed to adequately debate the law, reports CBS News.
Republican leaders in the Senate are rushing to figure out a way to preserve the NSA's spying programs before portions of the Patriot Act expire on June 1, while others hope to rein in the program or let it lapse altogether.
One measure that would reform the NSA's spying powers, the USA Freedom Act, passed the House last week in a 338-88 vote, but has run into strong resistance from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican senator who are adamant about keeping the surveillance program as it is.
The bill would supposedly stop the NSA from collecting bulk metadata while at the same time reauthorize three expiring sections of the Patriot Act that the NSA uses to justify its collection programs. But even Paul says it doesn't go far enough, and sixty House members sent a letter to the Senate on Wednesday urging lawmakers to improve the legislation.
Many Senate Democrats appear to support the reform measure, and at least six Republicans are certain to vote for it, while others have said they are still undecided.
Following Paul's lengthy speech, McConnell scheduled rare Saturday procedural votes to end the debate on both the Freedom Act and a two-month extension for the part of the Patriot Act the NSA uses to justify its spying programs, reported The Hill.
If the Senate vote on the Freedom Act fails on Saturday, the chamber will then vote on a two-month extension of the current Patriot Act so that lawmakers can have time to work out their differences.
Because the House will leave Washington on Thursday afternoon, unless the Senate approves the House-cleared bill, those Patriot Act provisions could at least temporarily expire.
"The House has acted. It's time for the Senate to act," Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said on Thursday, reported The Hill. "If they act, we'll take a look at what they do and make a decision on how to proceed."
Opponents of the bulk data collection program are supposedly planning further procedural attempts to block it over the next 48 hours, reported the Guardian.
