WASHINGTON – In a significant scaling back of national security policy formed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Senate on Tuesday approved legislation curtailing the federal government’s sweeping surveillance of U.S. phone records, and President Barack Obama quickly signed the measure.
The passage of the bill – achieved over the fierce opposition of the Senate majority leader – will allow the government to restart surveillance operations, but with new restrictions.
The legislation signaled a cultural turning point for the nation, almost 14 years after the attacks of Sept. 11 heralded the construction of a powerful national security apparatus.
The shift against the security state began with the revelation about the bulk collection of phone records by Edward J. Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor.
The backlash was aided by the growth of interconnected communication networks run by companies that have felt manhandled by government prying.
The storage of those records now shifts to the phone companies, and the government must petition a special federal court for permission to search them for callers linked up to two steps from a terrorism suspect.
Even with the congressional action, the government will continue to maintain robust surveillance power, an authority highlighted by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., whose opposition to the phone records program forced it to be shut down at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
The bill cleared the Senate 67-32 after a fierce floor fight.
Obama was quick to praise passage of the legislation and to scold those who opposed it.
“After a needless delay and inexcusable lapse in important national security authorities, my administration will work expeditiously to ensure our national security professionals again have the full set of vital tools they need to continue protecting the country,” Obama said.
“Just as important, enactment of this legislation will strengthen civil liberty safeguards and provide greater public confidence in these programs.”
The Senate’s longest serving member, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., said the legislation, which he co-sponsored, represented “the most significant surveillance reform in decades.”
