The US House of
Representatives has narrowly voted to continue collecting data on US
phone calls, in the first legislative move on the programme.
In a 205-217 vote, lawmakers rejected an effort to restrict
the National Security Agency's (NSA) ability to collect electronic
information.
The NSA's chief had lobbied strongly against the proposed measure.
The vote saw an unusual coalition of conservatives and liberal Democrats join forces against the programme.
 |
| Republican Justin Amash attached the amendment to a defence spending bill |
The details of the NSA dragnet were made public by Edward
Snowden, a former contractor for America's electronic spying agency. He
is now a fugitive, seeking asylum in Moscow.
'Fear'
The rejected amendment would have blocked funding for the NSA
programme which gathers details of every call made by or to a US phone,
unless the records were part of a specific investigation.
It was introduced by Michigan Republican
Justin Amash, who warned during Wednesday's debate that the proposal's
critics would "use the same tactic every government throughout history
has used to justify its violation of rights: fear.
"They'll tell you that the government must violate the rights
of the American people to protect us against those who hate our
freedom."
Despite the White House's lobbying against the amendment, a majority of House Democrats - 111 -
voted for it. Eighty-three Democrats voted against.
Among Republicans, 94 voted for the Amash amendment and 134 against.
'We've gone overboard'
Before Wednesday's vote there were fierce exchanges on the
House floor during what was the first sustained legislative debate on
the NSA's reach since Mr Snowden's revelations.
 |
The National Security Agency (NSA) began collecting Americans' phone
records in 2001, as part of far-reaching surveillance programmes
launched by then-President George W Bush in the aftermath of the 9/11
attacks.
But the scope of the practice, continued under President
Barack Obama, only became apparent in June when ex-CIA contractor Edward
Snowden leaked classified US surveillance files.
It emerged that a US secret court had ordered phone company
Verizon to hand over to the NSA the phone records of tens of millions of
American customers.
This information, known as metadata, includes the numbers of
the originating and receiving phone, the call's duration, time, date and
location (for mobiles, determined by which mobile signal towers relayed
the call or text).
The contents of the conversation itself, however, are not
covered, US intelligence officials say. The surveillance applies to
calls placed within the US, and calls between the US and abroad. |
"We've really gone overboard on the security
side," said Democratic Representative Peter Welch of the surveillance,
which is part of a classified $30bn (£19.5bn) intelligence budget.
But others said the practice was essential in America's efforts against terrorism.
"Have 12 years gone by and our memories faded so badly that
we forgot what happened on September 11?" said Mike Rogers, the
Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee.
Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann, not usually noted
for her support of President Obama, also backed the administration's
stance.
"Let us not deal in false narratives," she said. "Let's deal in facts that will keep Americans safe."
But Republican Jim Sensenbrenner, one of the original authors
of the Bush-era Patriot Act, said "the time has come" to stop
harvesting phone records.
On the eve of the vote, in a rare statement against a
legislative amendment, the White House called the Amash proposal a
"blunt approach" that would hamper US anti-terrorism efforts.
NSA director Gen Keith Alexander held separate, closed-door
sessions with Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday to lobby them against
the bill.
Another NSA surveillance programme, Prism, allows the agency
to sweep up global internet usage data through nine major US-based
providers.
The programmes' supporters say such surveillance has helped
thwart at least 50 terror plots in 20 countries, including up to a dozen
directed at the US.
Divided opinion in the US about the snooping was highlighted
by a CBS News poll on Wednesday.
The survey found that 67% of Americans opposed the
government's collection of phone records, but 52% said it was necessary
to counter terrorism.
source: BBC
10:39 AM
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