Rand Paul: “I thank the Senator from West Virginia. I think he has made some really good points. I think a lot of us have come to…”

“I thank the Senator from West Virginia. I think he has made some really good points. I think a lot of us have come to the agreement that there is a problem with bulk collection. I don't think we have everybody, but I think we have a significant number. The court agrees with us. So I think we are getting closer. One of the groups that we have talked about in looking at where we are, whether this is a constitutional or legal program--is it is pretty intriguing to look at the report that comes from the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. This is a bipartisan board. It is a board that was put in place, and I think the appointees are bipartisan appointees. When they met, they came to the conclusion, though, that the bulk collection of records is not warranted and not given sanction by the PATRIOT Act. They had four different reasons why they say that the telephone records program--the bulk collection of our records--does not comply even with the PATRIOT Act. The first reason they say is that there is no connection to any specific FBI investigation at the time of the collection. So, basically, when they collect your phone records, they are not even alleging that they are related to any investigation. But that is what the statute says. They are supposed to be relevant to an investigation, but there is no evidence and nothing is even presented that there is any investigation even going on. The investigation actually starts after they have collected all of your records.…”