Round 2 in Rep Amash's offensive on NSA

Rep Justin Amash (R-MI) wants to stop the government’s snooping on people’s phone calls any way he can.

The libertarian stalwart filed two amendments to the annual defense spending bill that would effectively prevent the National Security Agency (NSA) from collecting and storing bulk records about domestic phone calls. The strategy is reminiscent of a nearly successful move that came within seven votes of passage shortly after revelations about the NSA emerged from documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

The new measures are meant as a “backstop” in case a more comprehensive NSA reform bill does not get to the House floor, according to Amash's chief of staff, Will Adams. The legislation could be slated for a floor vote, but so far no session has been scheduled.