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U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa on Thursday voted against a bill that would restrict the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of phone records, arguing that it was too watered down.
Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, had been a co-sponsor of the original bill. But many civil liberties advocates objected to the final version, which was amended after negotiations with the Obama administration.
“While I was happy to be a co-sponsor of the original version of the USA Freedom Act, I could not vote for this twice watered-down version of the bill,” Hanabusa said in a statement. “Though the original legislation intended to end sweeping surveillance programs, this version leaves open the opportunity to continue mass surveillance of Americans on a smaller scale. Additionally, the original bill would have allowed the controversial USA Patriot Act to expire in 2015, while this latest version of the bill extends it through the end of 2017. I believe the Patriot Act should be repealed immediately, and I have voted to do so in Congress.
“It is my hope that when this bill comes back from the Senate, it will reflect the original version that I enthusiastically supported, and we can start to make the proper, responsible reforms needed to our intelligence community.”
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, who had also co-sponsored the original version, voted against the bill, which cleared the House by a 303-121 vote.