WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Rand Paul and a tea-party backed group are suing the Obama administration over the National Security Agency's phone record collection policies. Paul says the suit is filed for themselves and on behalf of all Americans who are or have been customers of phone service in the United States since 2006.

The Kentucky senator and Freedomworks are represented by former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who unsuccessfully ran for Virginia governor last year.

The lawsuit argues that the bulk collection program that's been in existence since 2006 violates the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches.

Paul, a prospective Republican presidential candidate, has been outspoken against the Obama administration's surveillance programs and has called for the end of the dragnet collection of millions of Americans' phone records.