Rand Paul: “due to my concerns related to violations of the Fourth Amendment, I will object to any unanimous consent request…”

“due to my concerns related to violations of the Fourth Amendment, I will object to any unanimous consent request, motion, or waiver of any rule in relation to Treaty Doc. 111-8. I cannot support action that provides for the bulk collection of the financial records of U.S. citizens. The benefits of the treaty agreement should not come at the grave expense of endangering regular foreign investment and violating the constitutionally protected right of every American to be free from unreasonable suspicionless searches. Previous tax treaties were more focused on information specific to suspicions of fraud and required serious allegations of tax wrongdoing to be supported by evidence. The new bulk collection provisions, however, demand Americans' records under a vague standard that allows the government to access personal financial information that may be ``relevant'' through information exchanges between the U.S. and foreign governments. This new, lower, and ambiguous threshold would allow government access to bank records for hardly any reason at all. I do not condone tax cheats, but I cannot support an effort that punishes every American in pursuit of those that have actually broken the law. Accordingly, I will object to any unanimous consent request, motion, or waiver or any rule in relation to Treaty Doc. 111-8. ____________________”