We're pleased to see Sen. Harry Reid move toward a final vote on the Senate version of the USA FREEDOM Act, S. 2685. EFF has consistently urged the Senate to move forward on the bipartisan bill since it was first introduced in July.

The USA FREEDOM Act is a good first step towards successful surveillance reform. It will limit the NSA's program collecting Americans' calling records, introduce a special advocate into the secretive court overseeing the spying, and introduce much needed transparency requirements. While this bill is not a comprehensive solution to overbroad and unconstitutional surveillance, EFF urges the Senate to pass the bill without any amendments that will weaken it. 

After its successful passage, Congress must turn to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act, which is being used to collect Americans' communications (and a key aspect in our Jewel v. NSA litigation). It must also begin public investigations of Executive Order 12333, the authority used to regulate the president's spying occurring outside of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.