NSA phone snooping ban set for Senate vote

Senate Democrats took the first steps Wednesday to set a final vote on a bill to halt the NSAs phone-snooping program, in a move that signals a developing consensus to try to shut the program down before the end of the year.

Democratic leaders set a first test vote for Friday, which would likely be followed by final passage next week adding yet another major issue to the list of priorities in the short lame-duck session.

Senators will vote on a revamped version of the bill written by SenateJudiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat, choosing that option over a more NSA-friendly bill that passed the House earlier this year.

The American people are wondering whether Congress can get anything done, Mr. Leahy said in statement. The answer is yes.

Under the NSA phone program, revealed by former government contractor Edward Snowden, the government collected the numbers, times and durations of phone calls made by Americans. The information was stored for years, so government analysts could use it to try to track down potential terrorist links.

The Obama administration defended the program, saying it had approval of a special secret court and had been run by a small group of members of Congress who oversee intelligence activities. But many other lawmakers felt the program went too far including Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., author of the 2001 Patriot Act that the government used as legal justification for the program.

There is no excuse not to pass this fundamental piece of legislation during the lame duck, said Mr. Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin Republican.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid moved to schedule the votes. He had resisted for months as an internal fight brewed within his party between Mr. Leahy on the one hand and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat and chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, who had written a more lenient bill that would have let the NSA continue to collect phone records.

But with Democrats time in control of the Senate about to end, Mr. Reid acted.

Not everyone is on board with Mr. Leahys bill, which bans bulk collection of Americans records and requires the government to be more selective when it seeks data.

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NSA phone snooping ban set for Senate vote