The U.S. Congress has approved a bill to reform and restart the bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records, along with other anti-terrorism tools that expired earlier this week.
After days of intense and heartfelt debate about protecting national security and safeguarding civil liberties, the Senate voted 67-32 Tuesday to approve the USA Freedom Act, which now goes to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature.
Obama said on Twitter that he would sign the bill “as soon as I get it.”
By contrast, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky warned of a less secure America, calling the vote “a resounding victory for those who currently plot against our homeland.”
“It surely undermines Americans’ security by taking one more tool from our war-fighters, in my view, at exactly the wrong time,” McConnell added.
The legislation mandates that private telecommunications companies rather than the National Security Agency will collect and retain phone records nationwide. Federal authorities will need a court order to review those records and look for points of contact with known or suspected terrorists abroad.
“It is a step forward, because ultimately we protect the privacy of individuals,” said Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who helped write the bill.
“This bill recognizes that our privacy is not — and ought not ever be — deemed to be in conflict with our security. Our privacy is, in fact, part of our security,” said Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, a co-author of the legislation.
The bill enjoyed strong Democratic support but divided majority Republicans, some of whom wanted to resurrect the once-secret government program exposed by fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
“I am truly perplexed that anyone would argue that telephone data are better protected in the hands of 1,400 telecom companies and 160 wireless carriers than in a secure NSA database that only 34 carefully vetted and trained federal employees are allowed to query under the supervision of a federal judge,” said Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican.
“The [new] system is going to be less effective, because there is absolutely no guarantee that this data will be retained by the telecom companies and the wireless carriers,” Collins added.
The nation’s telecommunications industry has been publicly silent on the bill.
Former U.S. intelligence officials say data collection constitutes an important arrow in America’s national security quiver — one that will be affected by the USA Freedom Act.
Source-VOA
