--- title: Obama Warns of Consequences of Not Passing USA Freedom Act description: "Heaven forbid we’ve got a problem where we could have prevented a terrorist attack" Obama said Friday canonical: https://time.com/3902257/obama-patriot-act-senate-loretta-lynch/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-29T21:44:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:08:12.642Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Warns of Dangers of Inaction on Patriot Act og:description: "Heaven forbid we’ve got a problem where we could have prevented a terrorist attack" Obama said Friday og:url: https://time.com/3902257/obama-patriot-act-senate-loretta-lynch/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f13798642463d66/6988524435ba6ff885c0d7eb/ap38556555421.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3799 og:image:height: 2137 og:image:alt: Barack Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Warns of Dangers of Inaction on Patriot Act twitter:description: "Heaven forbid we’ve got a problem where we could have prevented a terrorist attack" Obama said Friday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f13798642463d66/6988524435ba6ff885c0d7eb/ap38556555421.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Warns of Dangers of Inaction on Patriot Act > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0e7e3529-d1e9-4f79-bec2-1a261ed17707&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Know Right Now: USA Freedom Act Signed Into Law [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: USA Freedom Act Signed Into Law](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EjH9lirV.m3u8) (1:05)  _Published 2015-06-01. Obama signed the USA Freedom Act into law. Watch Know Right Now to find out more._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 29, 2015 9:44 PM UTC by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 29, 2015 9:44 PM UTC President Obama warned Friday afternoon of dire consequences for national security should the Patriot Act be allowed to expire on Sunday night. Following a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Friday, Obama blamed a “handful of senators” for blocking the passage of the compromise USA Freedom Act, which would keep key provisions of the Patriot Act in place but roll back a controversial provision that the National Security Agency has used to collect bulk data on Americans’ phone and internet records. Without the Patriot Act in place, Obama warned, the nation’s security would be at risk. “I don’t want us to be in a situation where for a certain period of time those authorities go away,” he said Friday in the Oval Office. “And heaven forbid we’ve got a problem where we could have prevented a terrorist attack or apprehended someone who was engaged in dangerous activity but we didn’t do so simply because of inaction in the Senate.” Congress has been out on recess since Memorial Day and Senators left town before passing a Patriot Act reauthorization. The act expires at midnight on Sunday. Obama is pushing lawmakers to pass the USA Freedom Act, while some Senators have argued for a straight extension of the Patriot Act. Others think reform bills don’t go far enough. Obama said he’d reached out to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and urged Senators to “take action and take action swiftly. “This is not an issue where we have to choose between security and civil liberties, this is an issue in which we in fact have struck the right balance and shaped a piece of legislation that everybody can support. So let’s go out and get it done,” he said. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands. The opponents of this program have not been able to provide any, any example [ MUSIC ] Of the NSA abusing the authorities provided. We're are not collecting the information of terrorists, we are collecting all American citizens records all of the time. My understanding is there's still five minutes remaining on the opposition side, and I request that time. Mr. President You're objection? I object The yay's are 77 and the nays are 17. 3 / 5 of the senators duly chosen and sworn and voted in the affirmative has agreed to. 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