Senate Republicans rose to the defense of the National Security Agency on Tuesday by filibustering a bill that would have halted the agency’s phone-snooping program, saying it is now more critical than ever amid advancing terrorism in the Middle East and fears of homegrown terrorism in the U.S.
The vote, in which 41 Republicans and one Democrat banded together for the filibuster, leaves the most controversial part of the Patriot Act in place.
It also ends efforts to rein in the NSA program for the foreseeable future because Republicans will take control of the chamber early next year and are unlikely to revisit the issue.
“This is the worst possible time to be tying our hands behind our backs,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who pointed to the advance of Islamic State terrorists in Iraq and Syria. “The threat from ISIL is real. It’s different from what we’ve faced before. And if we’re going to overcome it — if our aim is to degrade and destroy ISIL, as the president has said — then that’s going to require smart policies and firm determination.”
Pressure will now build on President Obama to make changes on his own. He has put some limits on the NSA, but asked Congress for guidance and said he strongly supported the legislation the Republicans defeated.
Still, the NSA’s snooping days may be numbered. The controversial sections of the Patriot Act are up for renewal next year, and unless Congress can reach an agreement, those powers will expire.
Tuesday’s vote was a blow for privacy advocates, who won overwhelming support in the House this year for a bill that dramatically curtailed NSA snooping and other bulk-records collection by the government.
The advocates tried to build a similar conservative-liberal coalition in the Senate, but most Republicans balked.
“Tonight, Senate Republicans have failed to answer the call of the American people who elected them, and all of us, to stand up and to work across the aisle,” said Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who pressed for the vote, fearing GOP infighting would doom chances for a bill next year.
Mr. Leahy accused Republicans of “scare tactics” to try to preserve the Patriot Act authority.
But national security advocates fought back, aided by the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East and by lone-wolf attacks in the U.S. and Canada that revived fears of Islamist terrorism gaining a foothold.
The snooping program was the biggest blockbuster revelation by former government contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked its details to the public 18 months ago and ignited an intense debate over the scope of the government’s snooping.
Under that program, which the administration justified under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the NSA demanded that phone companies turn over the metadata involving the numbers, times and durations of all calls made on their services. The information was stored for years, and the agency queried it when it believed there was a reason to suspect a phone number was connected to terrorism. Officials said that program did not store the contents of the calls themselves.
In defending the program, NSA officials initially said it helped them halt dozens of potential terrorist plots. Now, Mr. Leahy said, data suggest the snooping may have helped in only one potential attack.
Tuesday’s vote exposed a striking fault line within the GOP, including between potential 2016 presidential contenders.
Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, backed the legislation, saying the bill wasn’t perfect but needed to be debated.
He was opposed by Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, who staunchly defended the NSA’s program as critical to disrupting terrorist plots.
“We’re actually making it harder to go after a terrorist than it will be to go after a common criminal,” Mr. Rubio said of the proposed rein-in.
The most interesting vote of the 2016 presidential hopefuls was cast by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who joined most of his fellow Republicans in backing the filibuster but did so to dent the Patriot Act altogether.
He said blocking the bill makes it likelier that the controversial Patriot Act powers expire next year.
“The Patriot Act was instituted precisely to widen the surveillance laws to include U.S. citizens,” Mr. Paul said. “As Benjamin Franklin put it, ’Those who trade their liberty for security may wind up with neither.’ Today’s vote to oppose further consideration of the Patriot Act extension proves that we are one step closer to restoring civil liberties in America.”
Indeed, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat and chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which secretly approved the snooping, said Congress may have forfeited its best chance to preserve the program.
The legislation would have prevented the government from collecting and storing the phone records, instead leaving it to the phone companies. When the government wanted the information, it would have to go to the secret intelligence court for approval of a specific request for limited information.
Mrs. Feinstein said she had received assurances from the major phone companies that they would keep the data for the government to query.
The one Democrat who supported the filibuster was Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida.
The three Republicans besides Mr. Cruz who voted to move the bill to the floor were Sens. Dean Heller of Nevada, Mike Lee of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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