Is Congress Planning to Renew the Patriot Act Early?

by Mike on April 26, 2015

in VPN

Last week, Congressman Kevin McCarthy of California announced that his chamber could be finished with their review of the expiring parts of the dreaded Patriot Act before May. It has become quite clear that there is still a very real danger that GOP representatives will push for renewal. This will of course kill the hope of curbing certain types of mass surveillance in the US by making them unlawful.

Because Terror Attacks Loom

Majority Leader McCarthy’s statement to other GOP lawmakers has come as a surprise to most of us who have been following the course of the Patriot Act through Congress. We knew that the Act would be up for renewal soon, and that it still has supporters in the House. But we did not predict that the Republicans would be fast tracking it. The key provisions of the Act in question are due to expire at the end of May, but McCarthy is already prepared to get them reauthorized.

Many are tired of hearing the same old national security issues being used to support the horrendous practices of government agencies like the NSA. Those in government who are backing legislation like the Patriot Act always claim that such laws are necessary to prevent acts of terrorism, but they never have any proof to show for it. There is always another reason why they cannot present a decent and solid case to the public. This time is no different. McCarthy claims that the Act is needed to defend against the existing and emerging threats from groups like al Qaeda and ISIS, and from imminent foreign attacks from places like Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen. Yet the people cannot believe that violating freedoms and privacy can really help preserve homeland security.

McCarthy is sure that the three expiring sections of the Patriot Act are needed by intelligence agencies for their efforts to track terrorists. The said laws allow these agencies to follow the communications and keep an eye on the activities of the terrorist groups that they are aware of. But the rest of Congress isn’t so sure. This could be good, because it means that they are still weighing the claims of the Act’s supporters against the concerns of the public. These concerns center on invasive phone and Internet spying on individuals and organizations, both foreign and domestic, who are not even suspected of terrorist affiliations. But it could also be bad because their apparent indecision can strengthen the position of those who want the Act renewed in full force. The House needs to make a decision by May 22nd at the latest if they want to beat the expiration date since they are scheduled to be out of town after Memorial Day.

Section 215 is the most notorious of the three laws connected to the Patriot Act that are set to officially expire on June 1st this year. Section 215 has caused a lot of controversy because it is the law that has been abused by the NSA to justify their mass surveillance programs. Section 215 allows the bulk collection of phone data, including that of American citizens. Americans are supposed to be protected from this by their Constitutional rights, but after the 9/11 attack, the Patriot Act was formed and used as an extreme measure to combat serious terrorist threats. Because of that event, after 14 years, millions of US citizens and foreign nationals are still subjected to metadata surveillance on their phone calls.

After Edward Snowden made the world aware of the activities of the NSA, President Barak Obama promised last year that he would support the fight to end the agency’s bulk data collection programs. The President has addressed Congress and urged them to institute reforms that would allow the intelligence community to protect national interests while still preserving Americans’ constitutional rights and the rights afforded to the citizens of other countries under international law. The House was two votes shy of voting reforms in last year. The president, along with many privacy advocates, still believes that the NSA and other agencies can get the data that they need to protect national security without using dragnet surveillance techniques. They can simply go through the courts and get the appropriate warrants for the specific records that they require, just like everyone else does. Patriot Act enthusiasts of course say that this takes too much time and causes them to lose opportunities to catch terrorist activities in time. But again, there is no evidence that the mass data gathering that has gone on unchecked since 9/11 has helped stop any attacks.

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