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Congressional vote set to curb NSA spying powers

Published Jul 24th, 2013 5:15PM EDT
NSA Reform Congressional Vote

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The public backlash against the National Security Agency’s broad spying powers has apparently been greater than many in Washington had anticipated. The Guardian reports that the United States House of Representatives is set to vote on a new bipartisan proposal that would curb some of the powers that the NSA is now using under the Patriot Act. In particular, The Guardian says that the proposed amendment “ends authority for the blanket collection of records” such as cellphone metadata that the NSA has claimed it has the right to access in bulk without obtaining a search warrant. Even if the measure succeeds in the House, however, its fate is far from certain in the Senate and it’s likely that the White House will step up lobbying to oppose its inclusion in the annual defense appropriations bill.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.