WASHINGTON _ The Senate voted Thursday to reauthorize the government's warrantless-spying program through 2023, overcoming bipartisan opposition over concern for Americans' privacy rights.
The bill, passed 65-34, will extend the National Security Agency's authority to intercept calls and emails from suspected foreign terrorists under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The measure goes to President Donald Trump for his signature.
Supporters call the program an essential tool in fighting terrorism. Although the Trump administration backs the FISA program, the president caused an uproar hours before a House vote last week by tweeting that the program may have been used to spy on his 2016 presidential campaign.
Senate critics of the bill, led by Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky and Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon, nearly blocked the measure in a procedural vote Tuesday. Opponents of the program say it doesn't offer enough protection for Americans who get swept up in the surveillance of foreigners.
Paul and Wyden, along with a dozen co-sponsors, introduced an amendment that would have imposed stricter privacy protections when law enforcement agencies query the FISA database for communications involving Americans.
A similar amendment failed in the House, which voted to reauthorize the FISA program on Jan. 11.
