Surveillance reform measure blocked in the wake of Orlando killings

The US House of Representatives voted down an anti-surveillance amendment after some of its members expressed concern about its impact on the fight against terrorism, in the wake of the massacre at a nightclub in Orlando (FL). The measure was proposed by Reps Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Zoe Lofrgren (D-CA) as as an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act. It would prevent warrantless searches by law enforcement of information on Americans from a foreign intelligence communications database. It would also prohibit -- with some exceptions -- the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency from using any funds appropriated under the Act to require that companies weaken the security of their products or services to enable surveillance of users. The amendments had earlier been passed in 2014 and 2015 but were stripped from the defense appropriations bill before the bill reached President Obama. This year its timing seems to have been its biggest handicap, coming a few days after the killings at the Orlando nightclub.