The House of Representatives today passed the USA Freedom Act, meant to prevent the NSA from collecting Americans’ phone records, with a vote of 338 to 88.
The NSA has been collecting Americans’ phone records in bulk since late 2001 under the auspices of Section 215 of the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act stands to expire on June 1. Some Republicans want to see its powers extended with the NSA’s phone record collection program intact.
The USA Freedom Act‘s strong bipartisan support will make it more difficult for those Republicans to push their legislation through. So, too, will a recent decision made by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled the data collection was illegal.
Whether or not the Senate will approve the USA Freedom Act is unclear.
