Senate Republicans Block Sweeping Overhaul of NSA Program

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Senate Republicans blocked a sweeping overhaul of the once-secret National Security Agency program that collects records of Americans’ phone calls in bulk.

Democrats and a handful of Republicans who supported the measure fell two votes short of the 60 votes they needed to take up the legislation, which sponsors named the USA Freedom Act. Sen Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the Republican leader, worked hard to defeat the bill, which had the support of the Obama Administration and a coalition of technology companies, including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo. But the vote only put off a fractious debate over security and personal liberties until next year. While a Republican-controlled Senate is less likely to go along with the kinds of changes that were in the bill, which would have ended the NSA's ability to collect bulk phone call data, the debate could further expose rifts between the party’s interventionist and more libertarian-leaning wings.


Senate Republicans Block Sweeping Overhaul of NSA Program