Sen Wyden pledges to filibuster rubber-stamp Patriot Act

Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) is increasing his opposition to Senate Republicans’ insistence on a “clean” renewal of Patriot Act provisions set to expire at the end of May. Sen Wyden, a frequent spy critic, said that he would filibuster GOP leaders’ attempt to renew the law at the root of controversial National Security Agency surveillance, unless it contains significant reforms. "If for example, they decide to go with some sort of short-term extension of this flawed law, I intend to filibuster that on the floor of the Senate unless there are major reforms like getting rid of the bulk phone records collection program," he said. "The question will be, as you know, the Senate Republican leadership has been looking at a variety of ways to move forward to keep the bulk phone records collection program going," added Sen Wyden, a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "What usually happens is they say, 'Let's just have a short-term extension of it.'” “I'm tired of extending a bad law.”

A filibuster from Sen Wyden -- which would likely be cheered by other NSA critics such as Sens Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) -- only makes the path of short-term Patriot Act extensions more difficult for GOP leaders. With enough support, a filibuster from Sen Wyden or other lawmakers could push the Senate up to the brink of its end-of-the-month deadline and raise the prospect that the law expires entirely.