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Senate Passes 4-Year Re-Up of Patriot Act Provisions
Bloomberg News reports that, as expected, today "[t]he US Senate approved a four-year extension of provisions in the USA Patriot Act allowing law enforcement to track suspected terrorists with roving wiretaps. ... The measure goes to the House for final passage before being sent to President Barack Obama for his signature. The surveillance powers would be extended until June 1, 2015." The story mentions that the Patriot Act powers this approval includes would extend "to so-called 'lone wolf' suspects who aren't affiliated with any terrorist group."
I believe this is the bill, intuitively titled Small Business Additional Temporary Extension Act of 2011. Apparently, this bill was "amended" by removing and replacing the entire text with the PATRIOT ACT renewal!
Any senator NOT in the following list has some serious explaining to do:
Sen. Max Baucus [D, MT]
Sen. Mark Begich [D, AK]
Sen. Jeff Bingaman [D, NM]
Sen. Sherrod Brown [D, OH]
Sen. Maria Cantwell [D, WA]
Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D, MD]
Sen. Dean Heller [R, NV]
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D, VT]
Sen. Mike Lee [R, UT]
Sen. Jeff Merkley [D, OR]
Sen. Lisa Murkowski [R, AK]
Sen. Rand Paul [R, KY]
Sen. Bernard Sanders [I, VT]
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen [D, NH]
Sen. Jon Tester [D, MT]
Sen. Tom Udall [D, NM]
Sen. Mark Udall [D, CO]
Sen. Ron Wyden [D, OR]
That must be why we haven't heard him say a single damn word about it. At all. Because he's just holding his tongue, so he can wield the veto power, yeah?
It's actually worse than holding his tongue. He has come out in support of the renewal and accused the short list of senators opposed to it of threatening national security.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/05/obama-administration-says-rand-paul-risking-national-security-by-delaying-patriot-act.html