Two days after controversial provisions of the Patriot Act expired, the Senate is holding a final vote on the USA Freedom Act, which would alter the way U.S. agencies conduct surveillance and gather data.
The vote comes after the Senate was unable to "overcome parliamentary maneuvers by Sen. Rand Paul," as Eyder reported Sunday night, "and let three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act expire at midnight."
"We worked for two years across the aisle and across the Capitol," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, a champion of the bill. He said it would bring much-needed reform to America's intelligence-gathering.
Leahy and his chief ally on the bill, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, spent their Tuesday in the Senate fighting against amendments to the USA Freedom Act that were put forth – and defeated.
Tuesday's vote on the Freedom Act comes less than a month after a federal appeals court ruled that the National Security Agency's practice of collecting bulk data about Americans' phone calls violates the Constitution.
Before the vote, a displeased Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell criticized the policies of President Obama and said that the Freedom Act weakens America's ability to protect itself. He also cited an AP article that called the turn of events in the surveillance and spying field as "a victory for Edward Snowden," the former NSA contractor who released secret information about U.S. spying in June of 2013 (Snowden discussed the Patriot Act today).
After McConnell spoke, Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid responded by saying that if McConnell is worried about making America look weaker, "he should look in the mirror."
Reid accused the majority leader of trying to deploy distractions from the real issues, and said that McConnell had also criticized the House of Representatives.
"I don't think any of us," Reid said, "need a lecture on why we're less secure today."
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