US Officials, Civil Libertarians Disagree On Possible Consequences If Surveillance Laws Lapse
WASHINGTON (AP) — Barring a last-minute deal in Congress, three post-Sept. 11 surveillance laws used against suspected spies and terrorists are set to expire as Sunday turns into Monday.
Will that make Americans less secure?
Absolutely, Obama administration officials say.
Nonsense, counter civil liberties activists.
Even if senators set to meet in an unusual Sunday session agree to advance a House-passed bill that extends the programs, one lawmaker says he will use his right to delay a final vote and let the powers lapse once midnight arrives.
"We do not need to give up who we are to defeat" terrorists, said GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a 2016 presidential candidate. "There has to be another way," he said Saturday in a statement and on Twitter, pledging to force the expiration of an "illegal spy program."
While there are compelling arguments on both sides, failure to pass legislation would mean new barriers for the government in domestic national security investigations, at a time when intelligence officials say the threat at home is growing.
"If these provisions expire, counterterrorism investigators are going to have greater restrictions on them than ordinary law enforcement investigators," said Nathan Sales, a Syracuse University law professor and former Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration.
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