House Votes Overwhelmingly to End NSA’s Mass Collection of Phone Records
The House overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill Wednesday to dial back the once-secret National Security Agency program that collects and stores data from nearly every phone call or cellphone call dialed or received in the United States.
The bill passed 338-88, with both Democratic and Republican majorities determined to rein in a domestic intelligence program that sparked sharp concerns in Congress about violations of privacy and civil liberties.
The House bill faces a hurdle in the Senate, however, where GOP leaders are backing a bill to renew the controversial NSA program through 2020 either unchanged or with minor amendments.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, has said he will filibuster if the Senate is asked to renew the bill without changes. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., another staunch opponent of the NSA program, has vowed to filibuster as well.
“The overwhelming vote in the House should send a strong signal to Senate Republican leaders that momentum is on the side of surveillance reform,” Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., who also opposes the current program, said in a statement. (Read more from “House Votes Overwhelmingly to End NSA’s Mass Collection of Phone Records” HERE)
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