Senate blocks NSA surveillance curb

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- Republican opponents of White House-backed legislation that would rein in NSA surveillance programs narrowly blocked the Senate from taking up the bill Tuesday after warning it could help terrorists escape detection.

On a tally of 58 to 42, a procedural vote failed to get the supermajority 60 votes it needed to advance.

Supporters of the USA Freedom Act, a rare mix of liberal Democrats and libertarian Republicans, hoped public outrage over the secret mass collection of phone and Internet records -- revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden -- would lead to passage of the reforms. But many opponents argued the changes would hamper the National Security Agency's ability to track nimble and elusive terrorists.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell led the charge against the bill, saying the new rules would prevent the United States from capturing the terrorists who killed Peter Kassig, a U.S. citizen doing aid work in Syria. Kassig was executed over the weekend.

"Many of these fighters are familiar with America's intelligence capabilities, and many are savvy with communications. These are terrorists who know how to use encryption, and they how to change devices quickly," he said. "This is the worst time to be tying our hands behind our backs."

"It basically takes us back to a pre-9/11 lack of capacity to identify terrorists making telephone calls in the United States, said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Senate Republican. "I think that sort of unilateral disarmament would be bad for the country."

McConnell also argued the measure should be debated and voted on in the new Congress next year, not by lawmakers in a lame duck session who are leaving Washington.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, the bill's principal author, disputed the critics saying that while it puts checks on the NSA's powerful capabilities, it "does so responsibly."

"The bill contains key reforms to safeguard Americans' privacy by prohibiting the indiscriminate collection of their data. It also provides for greater accountability and transparency of the government's surveillance programs," he said. "The bill also ensures that the intelligence community has the tools it needs to keep our country safe."

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Senate blocks NSA surveillance curb