Congress has voted to renew the government’s authority to monitor electronic communications of foreigners abroad.
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The Senate on Friday approved a five-year extension by a 73-23 vote and sent the bill to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it.
This comes after delaying the final vote on whether or not to add oversight and privacy safeguards to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) amendments that allows federal agencies to conduct warrantless wiretapping.
The program began shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks under the Bush administration, and without congressional authorization. Many critics and whistle-blowers have alleged that the law has enabled many law-abiding Americans’ communications to be included in the international electronic dragnet.
The CIA and National Security Agency use the program to collect intelligence on Americans who are communicating abroad with foreign “targets.”
“Everyone becomes suspect when big brother is listening,” Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, said recently while arguing against renewing the FAA in the House of Representatives.
Should the Senate not re-new the FAA before Dec. 31, the bill will expire and the warrantless wiretapping provisions will be erased. On Thursday, members of the Senate met in Washington to begin discussing the act, but the final vote was moved to Friday.
