Rushed Debate On Federal Spying Powers

Video produced by Caleb O. Brown and Austin Bragg.

The quick, perfunctory debate over the government's ability to spy on a large share of Americans' communications was desperately shallow. 

Amendments that would have offered some small degree of oversight were pushed aside. Defenders claimed that they simply didn't have time to properly consider alternatives, but that's mainly because they didn't schedule a debate until mere hours remained before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act amendments were set to expire. Cato Institute research fellow Julian Sanchez examines the alternatives.