Obama calls on Sen. Paul to drop objections to tax treaties

Treaties cannot go into force unless ratified by the Senate, and the objection of any one senator halts action on legislative business pending in that house of Congress, as Paul has done in this case.

"An individual's bank account is the epitome of who they are as a private citizen," Paul wrote McConnell, a fellow Kentucky Republican, adding that the account can reveal where someone shops, where they eat, what medicines they take, who their doctors are and where they travel.

Bulk collection tax treaties are not a policy prescription to U.S. citizens conducting illicit financial transactions in a foreign country.