Efforts To Overhaul NSA Surveillance Setback In U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON DC – 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.

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