Rubio Campaign Press Release - The Next Major Challenge

Why the World Has Become a More Dangerous Place

Originally published in TIME, 6.15.2015

This month, the Obama administration will begin the process of dismantling one such program that has helped to keep our people safe since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This so-called "Section 215 metadata program" authorized by the Patriot Act, which was closely overseen by Congress and the courts for more than a decade, has allowed us to thwart terrorist plots.

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Unfortunately, misinformation, fear-mongering and the allure of campaign fundraising all contributed to its expiration, its explicit prohibition in the future, and its replacement with a weaker and untested system that fails to require phone companies to maintain records that we may one day need to track terrorists. Rather than use what power remains in his bully pulpit, President Obama opted to be a bystander and let this program be killed, even though he had previously championed it. Even worse, the White House clearly sent the message to the heads of the intelligence agencies that they needed to stand down from advocating for the program. As a result, the American people are now less safe....

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We need clear leadership from the commander-in-chief to confront the myriad of national security challenges facing the nation. It is increasingly clear that the task of ensuring that those we entrust to protect us have every tool they need for the job will fall to the next president. It is also apparent that through their demagoguery on this issue, through their support for abandoning these crucial programs or through their outright silence that some who aspire to that office are not up to the challenge any more than President Obama is. There is no duty more important than rising to this challenge because Americans lives are on the line.

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