Parts of Patriot Act Expires, Senate Fails to Renew

01 Jun, 2015 by Warner Todd Huston

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In an effort led by Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul, the U.S. Senate failed to renew several key measures of the Patriot Act last night in a rare Sunday session. One of the provisions was the controversial phone data collection policy.

This sets the Senate up to vote on a bill that would permanently ban phone data collection later this week. But over the weekend, the Patriot Act was severely weakened.

The Senate on Sunday let key sections of the Patriot Act law expire at midnight, but voted to advance a bill that would eventually replace its most controversial provision.

The drama on the Senate floor over the anti-terrorism law, passed in the wake of 9/11, highlighted sharp divisions within the GOP over privacy concerns and national security and carried immediate implications for government surveillance programs.

The Senate voted 77-17 to advance a bill that would end the National Security Agency’s controversial bulk collection of the phone data of millions of Americans not suspected of any terrorist activity.

But final passage of the USA Freedom Act will not come until later this week, meaning that three sections of the Patriot Act will expire before senators can take further action.

“Tonight begins the end of bulk collection,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. “The bill will ultimately pass.”

So, what do you think? Is this a good thing? Or does it make us less secure?