Rand Paul: “contrary to its proponents' claims, S. 2271 fails to address the constitutional flaws in the PATRIOT Act or protect…”

“contrary to its proponents' claims, S. 2271 fails to address the constitutional flaws in the PATRIOT Act or protect innocent Americans against future abuses of their civil liberties. Rather, passing this bill makes the permanent authorization of most of the act inevitable. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to vote against S. 2271 in order to force the House and Senate to craft a new legislation giving the government the tools necessary to fight terrorism without sacrificing constitutional liberties. The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee essentially admitted that S. 2271 does nothing to address the core concerns constitutionalists and civil libertarians have with the PATRIOT Act. In fact, he has announced his intention to introduce his own PATRIOT Act reform bill! However, if S. 2271 passes and PATRIOT Act extension becomes law, it is highly unlikely that this Congress will consider any other PATRIOT Act reform legislation. USA Today's Editorial of March 1, ``Patriot Act `compromise' trades liberty for safety,'' accurately describes how people concerned about individual liberty should react to S. 2271's ``reforms'': ``Big Deal. By any standard of respect for the Bill of Rights, those provisions never should have been in the law in the first place. What is it about the Fourth Amendment (`The right of the people to be secure . . . against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated') that Congress doesn't get?'' Among S.…”