Rand Blocks the Renewal of Patriot Act

Matt Collins

Matt Collins

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Sen. Rand Paul Blocks the Renewal of Patriot Act

‘One step closer to restoring liberty’​

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier this evening, Sen. Rand Paul voted against further consideration of the USA Freedom Act as it currently extends key provisions of the Patriot Act until 2017. Sen. Paul led the charge against the Patriot Act extension and offered the following statement:

“In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans were eager to catch and punish the terrorists who attacked us. I, like most Americans, demanded justice. But one common misconception is that the Patriot Act applies only to foreigners—when in reality, the Patriot Act was instituted precisely to widen the surveillance laws to include U.S. citizens,” Sen. Paul said. “As Benjamin Franklin put it, ‘those who trade their liberty for security may wind up with neither.’ Today’s vote to oppose further consideration of the Patriot Act extension proves that we are one step closer to restoring civil liberties in America.”
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Here are the vitals:



U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113[SUP]th[/SUP] Congress - 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Sessionas compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate
Vote Summary[TABLE="class: contenttext, width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 4"]Question: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S. 2685 )[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Vote Number:[/TD]
[TD]282[/TD]
[TD]Vote Date:[/TD]
[TD]November 18, 2014, 07:26 PM[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Required For Majority:[/TD]
[TD]3/5[/TD]
[TD]Vote Result:[/TD]
[TD]Cloture Motion Rejected[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Measure Number:[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 3"]S. 2685 (USA FREEDOM Act of 2014 )[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Measure Title:[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 3"]A bill to reform the authorities of the Federal Government to require the production of certain business records, conduct electronic surveillance, use pen registers and trap and trace devices, and use other forms of information gathering for foreign intelligence, counterterrorism, and criminal purposes, and for other purposes.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: contenttext, width: 50%"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 25%"]Vote Counts:[/TD]
[TD="width: 50%"]YEAs[/TD]
[TD="width: 25%, align: right"]58[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="width: 50%"]NAYs[/TD]
[TD="width: 25%, align: right"]42[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: contenttext, width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 20%"]Vote Summary[/TD]
[TD="width: 20%"]By Senator Name[/TD]
[TD="width: 20%"]By Vote Position[/TD]
[TD="width: 20%"]By Home State[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
horiz_content_break.gif
Alphabetical by Senator Name[TABLE="class: contenttext, width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Alexander (R-TN), Nay
Ayotte (R-NH), Nay
Baldwin (D-WI), Yea
Barrasso (R-WY), Nay
Begich (D-AK), Yea
Bennet (D-CO), Yea
Blumenthal (D-CT), Yea
Blunt (R-MO), Nay
Booker (D-NJ), Yea
Boozman (R-AR), Nay
Boxer (D-CA), Yea
Brown (D-OH), Yea
Burr (R-NC), Nay
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
Cardin (D-MD), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Chambliss (R-GA), Nay
Coats (R-IN), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Nay
Cochran (R-MS), Nay
Collins (R-ME), Nay
Coons (D-DE), Yea
Corker (R-TN), Nay
Cornyn (R-TX), Nay
Crapo (R-ID), Nay
Cruz (R-TX), Yea
Donnelly (D-IN), Yea
Durbin (D-IL), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Nay
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Fischer (R-NE), Nay
Flake (R-AZ), Nay
Franken (D-MN), Yea
[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Gillibrand (D-NY), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Nay
Grassley (R-IA), Nay
Hagan (D-NC), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Nay
Heinrich (D-NM), Yea
Heitkamp (D-ND), Yea
Heller (R-NV), Yea
Hirono (D-HI), Yea
Hoeven (R-ND), Nay
Inhofe (R-OK), Nay
Isakson (R-GA), Nay
Johanns (R-NE), Nay
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Johnson (R-WI), Nay
Kaine (D-VA), Yea
King (I-ME), Yea
Kirk (R-IL), Nay
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Leahy (D-VT), Yea
Lee (R-UT), Yea
Levin (D-MI), Yea
Manchin (D-WV), Yea
Markey (D-MA), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Nay
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Nay
Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
Merkley (D-OR), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Moran (R-KS), Nay
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Murphy (D-CT), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Nay
Paul (R-KY), Nay
Portman (R-OH), Nay
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Yea
Reid (D-NV), Yea
Risch (R-ID), Nay
Roberts (R-KS), Nay
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Rubio (R-FL), Nay
Sanders (I-VT), Yea
Schatz (D-HI), Yea
Schumer (D-NY), Yea
Scott (R-SC), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Nay
Shaheen (D-NH), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Nay
Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Tester (D-MT), Yea
Thune (R-SD), Nay
Toomey (R-PA), Nay
Udall (D-CO), Yea
Udall (D-NM), Yea
Vitter (R-LA), Nay
Walsh (D-MT), Yea
Warner (D-VA), Yea
Warren (D-MA), Yea
Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
Wicker (R-MS), Nay
Wyden (D-OR), Yea
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: contenttext, width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 20%"]Vote Summary[/TD]
[TD="width: 20%"]By Senator Name[/TD]
[TD="width: 20%"]By Vote Position[/TD]
[TD="width: 20%"]By Home State[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
horiz_content_break.gif
Grouped By Vote Position[TABLE="class: contenttext, width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 3"]YEAs ---58[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Baldwin (D-WI)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennet (D-CO)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Booker (D-NJ)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Coons (D-DE)
Cruz (R-TX)
Donnelly (D-IN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Heinrich (D-NM)
Heitkamp (D-ND)
Heller (R-NV)
Hirono (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kaine (D-VA)
King (I-ME)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Lee (R-UT)
Levin (D-MI)
Manchin (D-WV)
Markey (D-MA)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murphy (D-CT)
[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Murray (D-WA)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schatz (D-HI)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Walsh (D-MT)
Warner (D-VA)
Warren (D-MA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: contenttext, width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 3"]NAYs ---42[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Alexander (R-TN)
Ayotte (R-NH)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coats (R-IN)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Enzi (R-WY)
Fischer (R-NE)
Flake (R-AZ)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kirk (R-IL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Moran (R-KS)
Nelson (D-FL)
Paul (R-KY)
Portman (R-OH)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rubio (R-FL)
Scott (R-SC)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Toomey (R-PA)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: contenttext, width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 20%"]Vote Summary[/TD]
[TD="width: 20%"]By Senator Name[/TD]
[TD="width: 20%"]By Vote Position[/TD]
[TD="width: 20%"]By Home State[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
horiz_content_break.gif
Grouped by Home State[TABLE="class: contenttext, width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Alabama:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Sessions (R-AL), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Shelby (R-AL), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Alaska:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Begich (D-AK), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Murkowski (R-AK), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Arizona:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Flake (R-AZ), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]McCain (R-AZ), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Arkansas:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Boozman (R-AR), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Pryor (D-AR), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]California:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Boxer (D-CA), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Feinstein (D-CA), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Colorado:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Bennet (D-CO), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Udall (D-CO), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Connecticut:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Blumenthal (D-CT), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Murphy (D-CT), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Delaware:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Carper (D-DE), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Coons (D-DE), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Florida:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Nelson (D-FL), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Rubio (R-FL), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Georgia:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Chambliss (R-GA), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Isakson (R-GA), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Hawaii:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Hirono (D-HI), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Schatz (D-HI), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Idaho:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Crapo (R-ID), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Risch (R-ID), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Illinois:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Durbin (D-IL), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Kirk (R-IL), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Indiana:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Coats (R-IN), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Donnelly (D-IN), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Iowa:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Grassley (R-IA), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Harkin (D-IA), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Kansas:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Moran (R-KS), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Roberts (R-KS), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Kentucky:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]McConnell (R-KY), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Paul (R-KY), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Louisiana:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Landrieu (D-LA), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Vitter (R-LA), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Maine:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Collins (R-ME), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]King (I-ME), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Maryland:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Cardin (D-MD), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Mikulski (D-MD), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Massachusetts:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Markey (D-MA), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Warren (D-MA), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Michigan:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Levin (D-MI), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Stabenow (D-MI), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Minnesota:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Franken (D-MN), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Mississippi:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Cochran (R-MS), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Wicker (R-MS), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Missouri:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Blunt (R-MO), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]McCaskill (D-MO), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Montana:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Tester (D-MT), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Walsh (D-MT), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Nebraska:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Fischer (R-NE), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Johanns (R-NE), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Nevada:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Heller (R-NV), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Reid (D-NV), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]New Hampshire:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Ayotte (R-NH), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Shaheen (D-NH), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]New Jersey:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Booker (D-NJ), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Menendez (D-NJ), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]New Mexico:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Heinrich (D-NM), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Udall (D-NM), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]New York:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Gillibrand (D-NY), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Schumer (D-NY), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]North Carolina:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Burr (R-NC), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Hagan (D-NC), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]North Dakota:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Heitkamp (D-ND), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Hoeven (R-ND), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Ohio:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Brown (D-OH), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Portman (R-OH), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Oklahoma:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Coburn (R-OK), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Inhofe (R-OK), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Oregon:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Merkley (D-OR), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Wyden (D-OR), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Pennsylvania:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Casey (D-PA), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Toomey (R-PA), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Rhode Island:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Reed (D-RI), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]South Carolina:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Graham (R-SC), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Scott (R-SC), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]South Dakota:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Johnson (D-SD), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Thune (R-SD), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Tennessee:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Alexander (R-TN), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Corker (R-TN), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Texas:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Cornyn (R-TX), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Cruz (R-TX), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Utah:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Hatch (R-UT), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Lee (R-UT), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Vermont:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Leahy (D-VT), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Sanders (I-VT), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Virginia:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Kaine (D-VA), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Warner (D-VA), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Washington:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Cantwell (D-WA), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Murray (D-WA), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]West Virginia:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Manchin (D-WV), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Wisconsin:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Baldwin (D-WI), Yea[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Johnson (R-WI), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 33%"]Wyoming:[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Barrasso (R-WY), Nay[/TD]
[TD="width: 33%"]Enzi (R-WY), Nay[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Does it bother anyone that Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, and John McCain also "blocked" this bill?
 
Did Rand single handedly block this, or did he merely vote against it? If it's the latter, "blocked" it is stretching it. Good, either way.
 
Actually, every Democrat voted for it except for Bill Nelson from Florida, and every Republican voted against it except for Lee, Cruz, Heller, and Murkowski.
 
From a Campaign for Liberty e-mail:



We did it!

. . . for now.

Earlier tonight, the Senate rejected cloture on the USA Freedom Act, which at the time of the vote still renewed key and controversial provisions of the so-called “Patriot” Act and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act.

This is yet another blow to the security statists, who tried to get their extensions through without being dragged into a public debate over how much the “Patriot” Act has infringed on our liberties.

And this victory is only thanks to grassroots voices like yours!

But we’re not done yet.

The bill could still be brought back up at any time with an extension of these provisions.

So please keep contacting your senators at 202-224-3121 and urging them to oppose every vote on the USA Freedom Act unless any extensions of sections 215 and 206 of the “Patriot” Act and Section 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act are removed.

Campaign for Liberty has been leading the charge to rein in the national surveillance state, but it must be done without putting another stamp of approval on Constitution-shredding legislation such as the “Patriot” Act or the status quo.

Thank you for all you do in defense of liberty!

In Liberty,
_WF0zDZcMvp437c1y95svqMmS_nkYfK4Urqm26U65h2kr2tuWqwuxw2sLmPU9OhpJyDd8bJPD96ojDUCkJdWQGFEZp5PCUsDOZSffg=s0-d-e1-ft

John Tate
President
Click to expand...
 
Um, this isn't going to somehow stop the Patriot Act from being extended. It will be extended easily before June when it's set to expire. The Republicans will have the majority with 54 Senators in January, and all of them except for Rand, Lee, Heller, Murkowski, (and possibly Cruz) are in favor of extending the Patriot Act. That's 49 votes right there, and about half of the Senate Democrats voted in favor of extending the Patriot Act last time. So that's about 75 Senators who are going to vote in favor of extending the Patriot Act when it comes up for a vote sometime before June.
 
FreedomFanatic said:
Yes, it bothers me. But I still think Rand was right, weird as that is.
Click to expand...

I think either vote is right in this situation. I think someone like Lee felt this bill was a step in the right direction since it weakens the NSA surveillance program, and I don't blame him at all for voting for it. But I don't blame Rand for voting against it either.
 
Senior Republicans said stopping the surveillance would benefit enemies of the United State, including Islamic State militants, according to Reuters.

"God forbid that tomorrow we wake up to the news that a member of ISIL is in the United States," said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), according to the Huffington Post. If the NSA cannot track phone calls, he said, "that plot may go forward -- and that would be a horrifying result."

"Let's not have another repeat of 9/11," added Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.).

However, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said there has been no evidence to suggest that the NSA's surveillance program prevented a terrorist attack on the US."If this was important to stop ISIL, ISIL never would have started," he said.

Third party supporters also expressed disappointment over the vote.

“We are disappointed that the Senate has failed to advance the USA Freedom Act, a good start for bipartisan surveillance reform that should have passed the Senate," the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a statement. "[The] Act is a first step in comprehensive surveillance reform. Future reform must include significant changes to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act, to the operations of Executive Order 12333, and to the broken classification system that the executive branch counts on to hide unconstitutional surveillance from the public."
Click to expand...

http://rt.com/usa/206731-nsa-reform-fails-senate/
 
Here is the roll call vote:

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/L...ote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=2&vote=00282

It still seems absurd to me to suggest that Cruz, Lee, Heller, and Murkowski are the bad guys in this. They've been the most pro civil liberties Republicans we have in the Senate. The Republicans who voted against this bill because they felt it went too far in reigning in the NSA surveillance program are the bad guys.
 
Traditional Conservative said:
It still seems absurd to me to suggest that Cruz, Lee, Heller, and Murkowski are the bad guys in this. They've been the most pro civil liberties Republicans we have in the Senate. The Republicans who voted against this bill because they felt it went too far in reigning in the NSA surveillance program are the bad guys.
Click to expand...

I think you are correct; I have no problem with the votes of those four even though I think Rand's "nay" in this case was the better option. I think this response in the Guardian actually shows the wisdom in voting "nay" even though in some ways the bill could have scaled back the surveillance state a little bit.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/18/usa-freedom-act-republicans-block-bill
 
Well... good news... but it's pretty obvious, those who voted against it, did it for different reasons.. some because they don't want to weaken the NSA at all... others because it didn't go far enough.

A bill needs to be introduced to abolish the NSA
 
V4Vendetta said:
Well... good news... but it's pretty obvious, those who voted against it, did it for different reasons.. some because they don't want to weaken the NSA at all... others because it didn't go far enough.
Click to expand...

Actually, all of those who voted against it, with the exception of Rand, voted against it because they didn't want to weaken the NSA at all.
 
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