WASHINGTON (AP) — Opponents of the National Security Agency’s collection of hundreds of millions of Americans’ phone records insist they will press ahead with their challenge to the massive surveillance program after a narrow defeat in the House.
Furious lobbying and lastminute pleas to lawmakers ensured victory for the Obama administration as the House voted 217-205 Wednesday to spare the NSA program. Unbowed, the libertarian leaning conservatives, tea partyers and liberal Democrats who led the fight said they will try to undo a program they called an unconstitutional intrusion on civil liberties.
Rep. Justin Amash, a 33- year-old Michigan Republican, made his intentions clear through the social media of Twitter: “We came close (205- 217). If just 7 Reps had switched their votes, we would have succeeded. Thank YOU for making a difference. We fight on.”
The other sponsor of the effort, 84-year-old Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, said the vote’s slim margin ensures that vigorous debate on the NSA’s programs will continue.
“This discussion is going to be examined continually … as long as we have this many members in the House of Representatives that are saying it’s OK to collect all records you want just as long as you make sure you don’t let it go anywhere else,” said Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. “That is the beginning of the wrong direction in a democratic society.”
The showdown vote marked the first chance for lawmakers to take a stand on the secret surveillance program since former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden leaked classified documents last month that spelled out the monumental scope of the government’s activities.
Backing the NSA program were 134 Republicans and 83 Democrats, including House Speaker John Boehner, ROhio, who typically does not vote, and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. Rejecting the administration’s last-minute appeals to save the surveillance operation were 94 Republicans and 111 Democrats.
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