Sen. Paul to break silence on Patriot Act process

Paul lashed out at Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), claiming the majority leader had broken his word by not allowing amendments to the Patriot Act extension bill.

“Instead of honoring statements he made in February regarding allowing amendments and debate on the bill, Sen. Reid went through procedural hoops to go back on his word,” Paul said. “By hurriedly attaching the extensions to the privileged small-business bill as an amendment, Sen. Reid denied the Senate the opportunity to debate the constitutionality of its provisions.”  

Paul had demanded several controversial amendments to the Patriot Act, but Reid on Tuesday used various procedural measures to block the amendments and move to a final vote. The Patriot Act is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

The Patriot Act renewal legislation would extend the ability of U.S. intelligence authorities to conduct roving wiretaps, gain access to business records and survey “lone-wolf” operators, non-U.S citizens believed to be acting alone to commit terrorist acts.