Rand Paul says he'll force expiration of Patriot Act

Brian J. Tumulty | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Obama urges passage of intelligence act Obama: 'Handful of senators' standing in way of extension of Patriot Act provisions. (May 29)

WASHINGTON — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul announced Saturday he will force the expiration of the Patriot Act at midnight Sunday because of his objections to bulk data collection by the National Security Agency.

The Senate is scheduled to hold a rare Sunday session to consider the expiring law.

On Saturday morning, Paul, who is among the field of Republicans seeking their party's presidential nomination, issued a series of short statements on his Twitter account and a longer version on his presidential campaign website about an hour after his plan was first reported by Politico.

"There has to be another way. We will find it together,'' Paul said on his Twitter account, adding in another tweet, "I do not do this to obstruct. I do it to build something better, more effective, more lasting and more cognizant of who we are."

On his campaign page, Paul explained that he has objected to "the illegal spying of the NSA on ordinary Americans'' for several years.

Parts of the underlying law that expires June 1 are contained in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows government agencies to seek court authorization for wiretapping and other searches.

Paul, however, is a longtime critic of 2001 amendments incorporated in the 2001 USA Patriot Act, which has been used by the NSA to collect bulk data on domestic telephone calls.

"The callous use of general warrants and the disregard for the Bill of Rights must end,'' he said in his statement. "Forcing us to choose between our rights and our safety is a false choice and we are better than that as a nation and as a people.''

The bipartisan USA Freedom Act, which passed the House 303 to 121 earlier this month, would provide new limits on the NSA data collection. Bulk phone records would be retained by phone companies instead of turning them over to the NSA.

Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, has opposed the USA Freedom Act, which the Senate filibustered just prior to the Memorial Day break in a 57-42 vote.

McConnell's effort to extend the current law for another two months failed by a larger margin, 45-54.

A spokesman for McConnell said Saturday that Sunday's legislative session will address "the expiration of the expiring provisions to make every effort to provide the intelligence community with the tools it needs to combat terror.''

However, even if there are 60 or more votes for either measure when the Senate votes Sunday evening, Paul can force at least another 30 hours of debate, delaying passage until Tuesday at the earliest.

A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said the imminent expiration falls on the shoulders of McConnell because of his legislative missteps.

"Sen. Paul is only in a position to force the Patriot Act to expire because of Sen. McConnell's reckless, irresponsible tactics and inability to communicate with his fellow Republicans,'' Reid's spokesman, Adam Jentleson, stated in an email. "Sen. McConnell ignored advice from Sen. Reid and others who urged him to act on key provisions of the Patriot Act, which had a pressing deadline, before moving to trade, which did not.''

The Senate spent much of its last week of legislative business debating Trade Promotion Authority.