ACLU Comment on the Amash Amendment's Narrow Defeat

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives tonight rejected a bipartisan amendment to defund the National Security Agency’s domestic spying program that collected the phone records of all Americans. Introduced by Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), the amendment narrowly failed 217-205.

“Such a close bipartisan vote demonstrates that the American people are deeply and rightly concerned about the NSA’s domestic spying program,” said Michelle Richardson, legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington Legislative Office. “The status quo is untenable and the vote proves the administration’s domestic spying program is on thin ice with nearly a majority of the House. It’s time for the administration to honestly engage in the debate it says it welcomes and work to reform a program that flagrantly violates Americans’ privacy rights.”