Bill curbing NSA surveillance programs blocked in Senate
The USA Freedom Act, blocked by the Senate, would have curbed powers granted under the Patriot Act, including bulk collection of Americans' phone records.
Senate vote deals setback to efforts to reform NSA programs. Shara Tibken/CNET
Lawmakers' efforts to overhaul some of the National Security Agency's controversial surveillance programs were dealt a setback Tuesday when a reform bill failed to garner enough votes to proceed in the Senate.
The USA Freedom Act would have curbed powers granted to the NSA under the Patriot Act -- including the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone records. It was defeated in a procedural vote of 58 to 46, two votes short of the requirement to proceed. The House version of the bill passed in May, but many technology companies and privacy advocates pulled their support of the bill after several provisions were watered down.
The bill had the support of the White House, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, and a host of tech companies but was opposed by all but a handful of Republicans, some of whom were divided over the reason for their opposition.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who earlier this year filed a lawsuit over NSA phone surveillance, urged defeat of the bill, arguing that it didn't go far enough to restrict the NSA's surveillance powers.
"One common misconception is that the Patriot Act applies only to foreigners -- when in reality, the Patriot Act was instituted precisely to widen the surveillance laws to include US citizens," Rand said in a statement after the vote. "Today's vote to oppose further consideration of the Patriot Act extension proves that we are one step closer to restoring civil liberties in America."
Others such as Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) argued that the legislation would diminish US defenses in the face of a growing terrorist threat.
"As the rise of ISIL has demonstrated, the world is as dangerous as ever, and extremists are being cultivated and recruited right here at home," Rubio said in a statement. "This legislation would significantly weaken and, in some cases, entirely do away with some of the most important counter-terrorism capabilities at our disposal, which is why I will not support it."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which had championed the bill, said it was disappointed in the vote but expressed optimism for its future.
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Bill curbing NSA surveillance programs blocked in Senate