This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Thursday, January 29th, 2015.

I'm Caleb Brown.

Marco Rubio is distinguishing himself from his likely GOP opponents for president, how by calling for several

NSA surveillance powers to be extended permanently.

Julian Sanchez, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, explains why the debate over these powers has really barely begun.

So Rubio in a recent op-ed went beyond merely calling for a straight reauthorization of the three provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to sunset,

only one of which is really super controversial.

That's the 215 authority under which the bulk collection of American telephone

records has been taking place. Lots of Republicans think we should just reauthorize that authority

without reform.

Rubio is now going further and saying that authority should be made permanent,

all those authorities should be made permanent, which is to say not just that he opposes a particular reform proposal but

essentially things we shouldn't in the wake of this note in revelations even be

discussing really whether reform is needed which seems to me like a very

difficult to defend position. You know in practice you know it's hard to get anything through Congress.

The fact of these sunsets is really the thing that is forcing Congress to do something

about these authorities, even if it's just to deliberate and reauthorize

them, that action is being prompted by the sunset.

So to suggest that it be removed, that these authorities be made permanent is really to say debate should end.

Now Representative Kathy McMorice Rogers, a Republican from Washington, this is from National Journal,

she said I voted for the Patriot Act but also believed

it was very important that there was the expiration of the Patriot Act and the

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