Police State: Congress quietly expands NSA powers for spying on Americans
The campaign to rein in the surveillance of Americans by the National Security Agency (NSA) has become even more difficult. Instead, Congress has used a set of provisions to expand the agency’s data-gathering power. ● By way of two pieces of legislation, Congress maintained and expanded the NSA’s surveillance powers. In a bill now headed for President Barack Obama’s desk, Congress gave the agency what civil liberties advocates argue is an unprecedented authority to collect and store data belonging to American citizens. ● Additionally, the omnibus spending bill passed by the House on Thursday – intended to keep the government running through most of next year – was stripped of the amendment banning the NSA from conducting ‘backdoor’ surveillance on Americans and insisting that tech companies redesign their products to make them more surveillance-friendly. That amendment had previously passed the House easily in June. ● The Intelligence Authorization Act 2015, which will fund intelligence agencies for the next year, passed in a 325–100 vote, with 50 Democrats and 45 Republicans opposing. Through Section 309 of the act, Congress gave unparalleled legal authority to the government’s warrantless surveillance powers to allow for “the acquisition, retention, and dissemination” of US phone and internet data.
Stephen Lendman ■ Congress Authorizes Unlimited Spying on US Citizens