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| NSA Reform Bill Lives or Dies Tonight: Updating | NSA Reform Bill Lives or Dies Tonight: Updating |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Nearly a year and a half after American citizens first learned they were being spied on by their own government, the U.S. Senate tonight will definitively decide to end bulk surveillance of ordinary Americans and start reining in the National Security Agency. | Nearly a year and a half after American citizens first learned they were being spied on by their own government, the U.S. Senate tonight will definitively decide to end bulk surveillance of ordinary Americans and start reining in the National Security Agency. |
| Or it won’t. | Or it won’t. |
| Supporters of the USA Freedom Act, including privacy groups and technology companies, say it’s a positive first step toward ending the NSA’s overreach. They need 60 votes in the Senate to move forward with debate and what would likely be a raucous amendment process. | Supporters of the USA Freedom Act, including privacy groups and technology companies, say it’s a positive first step toward ending the NSA’s overreach. They need 60 votes in the Senate to move forward with debate and what would likely be a raucous amendment process. |
| [Click here or scroll down for latest updates] | [Click here or scroll down for latest updates] |
| Although the bill has three Republican cosponsors and widespread support among Democrats, there are enough senators who think the surveillance rollback goes too far — or not far enough — that the vote could easily fall short of the required level of support. | Although the bill has three Republican cosponsors and widespread support among Democrats, there are enough senators who think the surveillance rollback goes too far — or not far enough — that the vote could easily fall short of the required level of support. |
| Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is actively encouraging his caucus to block the measure, citing concerns that it would hurt the fight against such groups as the Islamic State. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union say that’s nonsense. | Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is actively encouraging his caucus to block the measure, citing concerns that it would hurt the fight against such groups as the Islamic State. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union say that’s nonsense. |
| With Republicans taking control of the Senate in January, a vote during the current lame-duck session is widely considered the bill’s last, best shot. | With Republicans taking control of the Senate in January, a vote during the current lame-duck session is widely considered the bill’s last, best shot. |
| The USA Freedom Act would end the government’s bulk collection of domestic phone records, forcing officials to make specific requests to phone companies. It would also end the law-enforcement monopoly on arguments before the secretive surveillance court by creating a role for a special advocate. And it would insist that significant court opinions be made public. | The USA Freedom Act would end the government’s bulk collection of domestic phone records, forcing officials to make specific requests to phone companies. It would also end the law-enforcement monopoly on arguments before the secretive surveillance court by creating a role for a special advocate. And it would insist that significant court opinions be made public. |
| The version of the USA Freedom Act up for vote tonight, by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), is not as strong as many privacy advocates want. A top concern it that it continues to allow so-called “backdoor searches” of Americans’ communications that get swept up during the warrantless collection intended for foreign targets under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Nevertheless, Leahy’s version is much more robust than the House version, which ended up being eviscerated under pressure from the intelligence community. | The version of the USA Freedom Act up for vote tonight, by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), is not as strong as many privacy advocates want. A top concern it that it continues to allow so-called “backdoor searches” of Americans’ communications that get swept up during the warrantless collection intended for foreign targets under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Nevertheless, Leahy’s version is much more robust than the House version, which ended up being eviscerated under pressure from the intelligence community. |
| The next step for the bill, should it make it so far, would be for it to survive – or potentially even be strengthened – during the consideration of amendments. | The next step for the bill, should it make it so far, would be for it to survive – or potentially even be strengthened – during the consideration of amendments. |
| Please check back here this afternoon and evening for updates, links, and commentary – and post or email your own. | Please check back here this afternoon and evening for updates, links, and commentary – and post or email your own. |
| Dueling Floor Statements | Dueling Floor Statements |
| YouTube video of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s floor statement this morning, saying the USA Freedom act would strip tools needed to fight the Islamic State: | YouTube video of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s floor statement this morning, saying the USA Freedom act would strip tools needed to fight the Islamic State: |
| Bill author and Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy then responded, citing widespread agreement that “bulk collection program has not been essential to keeping our country safe.” | Bill author and Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy then responded, citing widespread agreement that “bulk collection program has not been essential to keeping our country safe.” |
| – Dan Froomkin at 5:21 p.m. ET | – Dan Froomkin at 5:21 p.m. ET |
| Democrats Actually Appearing United | Democrats Actually Appearing United |
| Not all Senate Democrats were a sure thing when it came to a vote in favor of the USA Freedom Act. There were rumblings that Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon — one of the most outspoken critics of the NSA in the Senate — might vote against it because it was too weak. There was a more distinct possibility that Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California — who as chair of the Senate intelligence committee has been a key enabler of the surveillance regime — would find it hypocritical to turn around and say the NSA had gone too far. | Not all Senate Democrats were a sure thing when it came to a vote in favor of the USA Freedom Act. There were rumblings that Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon — one of the most outspoken critics of the NSA in the Senate — might vote against it because it was too weak. There was a more distinct possibility that Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California — who as chair of the Senate intelligence committee has been a key enabler of the surveillance regime — would find it hypocritical to turn around and say the NSA had gone too far. |
| But Dustin Volz and Brendan Sasso are reporting that Wyden and Feinstein both pledged their support today. | But Dustin Volz and Brendan Sasso are reporting that Wyden and Feinstein both pledged their support today. |
| “I am going to vote for this bill,” Feinstein told reporters Tuesday. “The president wants it, the president has said that for several months, and the House, I believe—it doesn’t quite mimic their bill, but it’s very close to their bill.” | “I am going to vote for this bill,” Feinstein told reporters Tuesday. “The president wants it, the president has said that for several months, and the House, I believe—it doesn’t quite mimic their bill, but it’s very close to their bill.” |
| Feinstein said she still prefers a reform bill she authored in her committee that would be more friendly to the NSA, but acknowledged that it wouldn’t pass the Senate or House…. | Feinstein said she still prefers a reform bill she authored in her committee that would be more friendly to the NSA, but acknowledged that it wouldn’t pass the Senate or House…. |
| “Let’s get started on this. I would characterize this bill as a beginning, but let’s get started,” Wyden said. “Tonight is the beginning of reform.”… | “Let’s get started on this. I would characterize this bill as a beginning, but let’s get started,” Wyden said. “Tonight is the beginning of reform.”… |
| – Dan Froomkin, 4:00 p.m. ET | – Dan Froomkin, 4:00 p.m. ET |
| Contact Your Senator. | Contact Your Senator. |
| The following groups all want to help you contact your senator – right now! – about the USA Freedom Act. | The following groups all want to help you contact your senator – right now! – about the USA Freedom Act. |
| Quiz question: Which of these is not like the other? | Quiz question: Which of these is not like the other? |
| – Dan Froomkin, 3:30 p.m. ET | – Dan Froomkin, 3:30 p.m. ET |
| On the Editorial Pages | On the Editorial Pages |
| The Washington Post and New York Times editorial boards, which rarely see eye-to-eye on national security matters anymore, both endorsed the USA Freedom Act this morning. | The Washington Post and New York Times editorial boards, which rarely see eye-to-eye on national security matters anymore, both endorsed the USA Freedom Act this morning. |
| The Times wrote that “the bill is a good way to begin restoring individual privacy that has been systematically violated by government spying, revealed through the leaks provided by Edward Snowden.” | The Times wrote that “the bill is a good way to begin restoring individual privacy that has been systematically violated by government spying, revealed through the leaks provided by Edward Snowden.” |
| And, it pointed out: “If the bill doesn’t pass in the current lame-duck session of the Senate, still controlled by Democrats, it may never get past the 60-vote hurdle in the next session of Congress.” | And, it pointed out: “If the bill doesn’t pass in the current lame-duck session of the Senate, still controlled by Democrats, it may never get past the 60-vote hurdle in the next session of Congress.” |
| The stridently hawkish Post hailed the bill’s “careful balance” and expressed relief that the NSA could “maintain its core, foreign-focused surveillance authorities without much change.” | The stridently hawkish Post hailed the bill’s “careful balance” and expressed relief that the NSA could “maintain its core, foreign-focused surveillance authorities without much change.” |
| The Los Angeles Times urged Congress – and Senate intelligence committee chair Dianne Feinstein in particular — not to “succumb to specious arguments from defenders of the status quo.” | The Los Angeles Times urged Congress – and Senate intelligence committee chair Dianne Feinstein in particular — not to “succumb to specious arguments from defenders of the status quo.” |
| The Wall Street Journal, however, published a particularly toxic bromide by former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden and former attorney general Michael Mukasey, entitled: NSA Reform That Only ISIS Could Love. | The Wall Street Journal, however, published a particularly toxic bromide by former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden and former attorney general Michael Mukasey, entitled: NSA Reform That Only ISIS Could Love. |
| – Dan Froomkin, 2:33 p.m. ET | – Dan Froomkin, 2:33 p.m. ET |
| Tonight’s Logistics | Tonight’s Logistics |
| Charlie Savage and Jeremy W. Peters, in the New York Times, describe what’s to come: | Charlie Savage and Jeremy W. Peters, in the New York Times, describe what’s to come: |
| After a brief debate, the Senate is expected to vote around 8 p.m. on whether to proceed with the bill. If it receives at least 60 votes, up to 30 hours of additional debate would follow, with another vote Thursday on whether to proceed. It would also require the votes of 60 of the 100 senators to pass. | After a brief debate, the Senate is expected to vote around 8 p.m. on whether to proceed with the bill. If it receives at least 60 votes, up to 30 hours of additional debate would follow, with another vote Thursday on whether to proceed. It would also require the votes of 60 of the 100 senators to pass. |
| If it passes, the Senate will take up the bill itself in December, when it returns from its Thanksgiving vacation. That process could be unpredictable, with potential amendments that could either make it go much further in imposing new limits on N.S.A. surveillance, or significantly weaken the provisions in the bill now. The revamped version would still need to pass the House before this Congress closes at the end of December. | If it passes, the Senate will take up the bill itself in December, when it returns from its Thanksgiving vacation. That process could be unpredictable, with potential amendments that could either make it go much further in imposing new limits on N.S.A. surveillance, or significantly weaken the provisions in the bill now. The revamped version would still need to pass the House before this Congress closes at the end of December. |
| – Dan Froomkin, 2:15 p.m. ET | – Dan Froomkin, 2:15 p.m. ET |
| Photo: Allison Shelley/Getty Images | Photo: Allison Shelley/Getty Images |