Rand Paul continues his fight to safeguard civil liberties
Christopher Tremoglie
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Sen. Rand Paul‘s (R-KY) reputation for protecting constitutional rights and civil liberties is well known. Throughout his career in the Senate, he has repeatedly shown a willingness to do the right thing and protect those without a voice.
Earlier this week, the great statesman was again called into duty, this time to defend civil liberties by calling for a vote to remove the reauthorization of FISA from the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Paul’s objective was simple: halt the unconstitutional spying on U.S. citizens.
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“During the 1960s, the FBI spied on Martin Luther King and other civil rights protesters. The FBI spied on Vietnam War protesters,” Paul said. “The Church Committee was formed in the 1970s and detailed these abuses, and the response by Congress was to pass something called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. FISA was ostensibly passed to limit spying on Americans. It was supposed to be a reform. But as far as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows government to spy on U.S. citizens without a warrant, it is unconstitutional.”
It’s a virtuous cause that all senators should have rallied around. Citizens in this country have certain rights, including the right to privacy. But in today’s world, such noble notions are mere afterthoughts, and legislators allow these rights violations to continue. Sadly, many senators still support the infringement of people’s rights.
“A bipartisan group of 34 senators joined Dr. Paul in voting to remove the reauthorization of FISA from the annual NDAA,” a press release said. “The final vote tally was 35-65, six votes short of ending domestic spying authority.”
Included in this debate was the need to reform Section 702 of FISA. Described as a “key provision of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 that permits the government to conduct targeted surveillance of foreign persons located outside the United States,” Paul urged his colleagues to bring “meaningful changes” to this program.
“Section 702 expires at the end of this year. Members of Congress anticipated using this deadline as an opportunity to not just make meaningful changes to 702, but to reform FISA generally to better protect Americans’ civil liberties,” Paul said. “But it appears not to be so.”
Paul’s frustrations center on the Senate’s neglect of reforming Section 702. Paul seemingly asserted that 702’s expiration date was known for a long time. Despite public declarations to the contrary by legislators, no one was genuinely serious about bringing changes to it. It was an act of sabotage, so Section 702 would receive a “default” extension in 2024.
“Well, extending Section 702 robs Congress of the ability to make reforms now, and likely robs Congress of the opportunity to make reforms any time in the next year,” Paul said. “That means, once again, the intelligence agencies that ignore the constraints on their power will go unaddressed and unpunished. And the warrantless surveillance of Americans, in violation of the Bill of Rights, will continue.”
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Congress should be working to help prevent the violation of people’s rights and liberties. Yet, as Paul noted, lawmakers lacked an appetite to remedy an unconstitutional act. It’s indicative of why many voters in the country are unsatisfied with today’s elected officials. The government “by the people, for the people” has morphed into a government “over the people, to violate the people.”
Paul has shown he will remain a dedicated voice to protecting citizens’ civil liberties. Other elected officials should start joining him.