WASHINGTON - February 15, 2011 - Senator Rand Paul (R-Kent.) wrote to colleagues Tuesday voicing objections to the USA PATRIOT Act as it heads to the Senate for reauthorization, warning that it could turn Amerika into a "police state".
Paul, a Tea Party favorite who was first elected last November, expressed opposition to warrantless searches and surveillance, questioning their constitutionality and their necessity to protect the United States from terrorist acts.
"I object to these warrantless searches being performed on United States citizens," he wrote. "I object to the 200,000 NSL searches that have been performed without a judge’s warrant. I object to over 2 million searches of bank records, called Suspicious Activity Reports, performed on U.S. citizens without a judge's warrant."
"It is not acceptable to willfully ignore the most basic provisions of our Constitution - in this case, the Fourth and First Amendments - in the name of 'security,'" added Paul.
On Monday, the House approved an extension of three key provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act by a margin of 275 to 144 after an attempt to fast track the bill failed to win a two-thirds majority last week. The provisions will expire at the end of February if the Senate does not also extend them.
Paul said that in passing the USA PATRIOT Act after the events of September 11, 2001, "Congress instead hastily passed a long standing wish list of power grabs like warrantless searches and roving wiretaps. The government greatly expanded its own power, ignoring obvious answers in favor of the permanent expansion of a police state."
The Kentucky Republican's letter reflects that he is positioning himself as a civil liberties champion, a rare breed in Congress and especially so in the Senate, making his voice more significant. The USA PATRIOT Act has largely been supported by the Bush and illegitimate Obama regimes, as well as a majority of Democrat and Republican lawmakers.
