US House Narrowly Rejects Proposal To End NSA Surveillance (HR 2397) In 205-217 Vote

From Zero Hedge (7/24/2013; emphasis is mine):

Moments ago, an unlikely grouping between a 33-year old Republican, Rep-Justin Amash, and an 84-year old Democrat, Rep-John Conyers, resulted in a House vote, that if passed, would have suspended the NSA's "indiscriminate collection of phone records" and effectively ended the program's statutory authority. Yet despite significant lobbying by the White House, security experts and representative on both sides of the aisle, the vote came within a startlingly close 12 votes of passage. A majority of Democrats, 111, voted for Amash's amendment despite the full court press while 83 Democrats voted no. The GOP vote was 94-134. That the vote did not pass is not surprising. However, that it came to just 12 votes of passage is the stunning development and shows a sea change of how Congress approaches both personal privacy and the broader implications of the Patriot Act. All of it thanks to the action of one man who at last check was still stuck in the transit terminal in Moscow.

(Full article at the link)

I couldn't say it better.

The final vote results for HR 2397 (Amash-Conyers amendment):

205 for, 217 against

• Democrats: 111 for, 83 against, 6 no vote

• Republicans: 94 for, 134 against, 6 no vote

Representative Justin Amash is an 33-year-old libertarian Republican of Palestinian and Syrian descent. Hayek and Bastiat are his favorite economists, according to his wiki entry. Representative John Conyers is the second-longest serving incumbent in the US Congress. He is a liberal in the traditional sense, and the Founding Member and Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Mr. Conyers on why he is working with Mr. Amash on the issue, from Washington Post (7/24/2013):

I think the whole Congress reacted much the way I did. First of all, we didn’t know it was going on, and we didn’t think it was fair. We thought it ought to be changed, and that’s what we hope to do ...

And who are the people who were dead set against the bill?

• Dem, GOP leadership and their minions (like Michelle Bachmann)

• Obama White House

Despite their threats and pressure, 57% of Democrats voted for the bill, and 41% of Republicans voted for the bill.

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