New Post has been published on UrRepublic
New Post has been published on http://www.urrepublic.com/patriot-act-expires-june-1-freedom%c2%ad-lovers-rejoice/
The Patriot Act Expires June 1, and Freedom Lovers Rejoice
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Since Edward Snowden revealed the magnitude of government surveillance on its own people, there has been an unprecedented amount of debate on the issue of government spying. Now all of a sudden, politicians from both sides of the aisle have united to curtail the federal government’s sweeps of phone and internet records.
At the end of April, a bill that would overhaul the Patriot Act and bring to a halt the metadata surveillance was passed by the House Judiciary Committee, and an identical bill is gaining support in the Senate. Apparently the desire for civil liberties is overpowering our so-called need for more national security.
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Under the bipartisan bills in the House and Senate, the Patriot Act would be altered to stop the bulk collection and sweeps which have existed under the guise of so-called National Security Letters issued by the F.B.I. Instead, this data would be stored by the phone companies and could be accessed by intelligence agencies only if they get approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court. This would be a huge victory for civil liberties. The new law would also create a panel of experts who would advise the FISA court on privacy, civil liberties and technology matters.
Two of America’s top freedom-fighters in the Senate, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, have reiterated that they will not accept a straight extension of the current Patriot Act, and the changes proposed by the new act are promising.
Mitch McConnell has been opposed to any alterations of the Patriot Act and in fact, proposed a blanket five-year extension of the act. “I don’t think he’s listening to America,” said Republican Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who is also a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee. “The seminole question is how much liberty are we going to give up for security? People are on the brink. They are scared out of their wits.”
Fortunately for freedom-lovers, a majority of Representatives agree with Chaffetz and are standing toe-to-toe against McConnell’s freedom-crushing plan.
