The proposed USA Freedom Act was billed in some quarters as “sweeping” reform of controversial data collection practices by the National Security Agency that were publicly disclosed 18 months ago by Edward Snowden, who was then an intelligence contractor with
The proposed USA Freedom Act was billed in some quarters as “sweeping” reform of controversial data collection practices by the National Security Agency that were publicly disclosed 18 months ago by Edward Snowden, who was then an intelligence contractor with the spy agency.
The legislation, drafted by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., fortunately failed on Tuesday to muster the 60 votes necessary to advance to the Senate floor for final consideration.
Several provisions of his proposal are worthy of support by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who count themselves protectors of the constitutional right of the American people “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches.”
But the bill’s fundamental flaw was that, while purporting to rein in spying on Americans, it also would have extended concerning portions of the Patriot Act, the law enacted in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, which authorized mass surveillance of not only foreign nationals, but also the American people.
The Freedom Act would have curbed the NSA’s mass collection of phone records. It would have required the government to disclose the number of individuals whose data was collected and how many of those were citizens. It also would have created a panel of privacy advocates to help protect the privacy and civil rights of the American people.
Yet, those provisions were not sufficient to merit passage of the legislation by the Senate because the law also would have upheld portions of the Patriot Act, thereby moving the country closer to a surveillance state where the government’s unreasonable searches — like reading the emails of law-abiding citizens — have become commonplace.
The Patriot Act is why the NSA was able to secretly collect the phone records of tens of millions of Americans. It is why spy agencies can continue to snoop through the Internet accounts of U.S. citizens without their knowledge or consent. And it is why the government can go so far as to monitor credit card and other financial transactions of the American people.
Above all, we believe it also ushered in the justification for the increased use of unilateral executive action by former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.
Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican, is right in his belief that a better way to reform the NSA is to let the Patriot Act lapse when it comes up for renewal next summer. Going into 2015, the Senate should allow the Patriot Act to expire and, in new and separate legislation, address the security and privacy needs of the American people.
— From the Orange County Register
