As we mentioned earlier in the week, the Patriot Act’s Section 215 expires tonight. This is the section which the Obama Administration has been using as the pretext for NSA telephone bulk surveillance of ordinary Americans.
The great news is, Section 215 will be expiring tonight, as the Senate didn’t vote. The less great news is that the vote for the extension, dubbed the USA Freedom Act, has only been delayed briefly, and could still happen as soon as Tuesday. The Senate did manage to vote to limit debate on the bill too, meaning filibusters won’t be able to stop it.
That means for those of you who didn’t call your Senators yet, and even those who did, there’s still time to call them some more and emphasize your extreme opposition to the USA Freedom Act and any other efforts to extend the Patriot Act.
A vote is unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean the vote will go the way of the pro-surveillance crowd. We can still make a difference if we can convince enough Senators to vote against it.
You can find your Senator’s contact information here, and below is a list of the 10 most important Senators to focus on, along with their contact information. Others should be contacted as well, of course, to emphasize how much we, the American public, oppose the surveillance state.
Paul, Rand – (R – KY)
167 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4343
King, Angus S., Jr. – (I – ME)
133 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5344
Enzi, Michael B. – (R – WY)
379A Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3424
Kirk, Mark – (R – IL)
524 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-2854
Cassidy, Bill – (R – LA)
703 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5824
Ayotte, Kelly – (R – NH)
144 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3324
Moran, Jerry – (R – KS)
521 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6521
Crapo, Mike – (R – ID)
239 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6142
Toomey, Patrick J. – (R – PA)
248 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4254
Boozman, John – (R – AR)
141 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4843
