Momentum Builds Against NSA Surveillance

The movement to crack down on government surveillance has built a momentum that even critics say may be unstoppable, drawing support from Republican and Democratic leaders, attracting moderates in both parties and pulling in some of the most respected voices on national security in the House.

The rapidly shifting politics were reflected clearly in the House, when a plan to defund the National Security Agency’s telephone data collection program fell just seven votes short of passage. Now, after initially signaling that they were comfortable with the scope of the NSA’s collection of Americans’ phone and Internet activities, but not their content, revealed by Edward J. Snowden, lawmakers are showing an increasing willingness to use legislation to curb those actions. The sudden reconsideration of post-Sept. 11 counterterrorism policy has taken much of Washington by surprise.