In a brief letter addressed to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and others, a group described by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) as “spanning the political spectrum,” urged Senate leaders to give a thumbs down to a short-term reauthorization of the Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act.
“We urge you to oppose bringing up this measure for a vote, or to vote against any such measure that extends expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act in their current form,” said the letter, penned by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the EFF, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and others.
McConnell in April introduced a bill that would grant intelligence agencies authority under the Act to continue surveillance and mass gathering of phone and other data for “national security purposes” through 2020.
