Montana Senator Jon Tester hopes Wednesday’s 10-hour filibuster over the Patriot Act will convince his colleagues that the controversial law needs a full Senate debate.
Tester says Patriot Act supporters usually bring up the re-authorization vote just before the law expires, forcing the Senate to rush through the process, instead of taking the time for a full discussion.
"I hope it’s different this time, I really do," Tester says. "Because this is craziness. We’ve never had an honest debate on the Patriot Act since I’ve been here, and I’ve been here over eight years now."
Tester, a Democrat, and fellow Montanan Steve Daines, a Republican, both joined Kentucky Senator Rand Paul in a 10-hour talkfest Wednesday aimed at derailing a vote to renew the 2001 law that authorizes broad government surveillance against possible terrorists.
Parts of the Patriot Act expire at the end of the month. The government has already begun winding down its bulk collection of telephone call records, in case Congress does not re-authorize the program.
