Thomas Jefferson repeatedly warned Americans to prevent government officials from doing mischief by binding them down with the chains of the Constitution. However, when the government no longer listens to the citizenry—when it no longer abides by the Constitution, which is our rule of law—and when it views the citizenry as a source of funding and little else, we have no choice but to speak to the government in a language it understands—money.
This is what the Amash Amendment is attempting to do by cutting off funds to the NSA if it collects surveillance data on American citizens who are not under criminal investigation. It’s a bold move, especially when one considers that the NSA operates off a budget of approximately $10 billion, and it may do more to hold this rogue agency accountable than any lawsuit, whistleblower or outrage on the part of the American people.
Little surprise, then, that the White House is doing everything in its power to quash this amendment.
—Constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, author of A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State
John W. Whitehead, Constitutional Attorney 