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Iowa Watchdog

Iowa U.S. House members break with party lines on NSA surveillance vote

7/26/2013

NO MORE SPYING: U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., is leading the charge to de-fund the NSA’s massive telephone surveillance program.

NO MORE SPYING: U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., is leading the charge to de-fund the NSA’s massive telephone surveillance program.

DES MOINES – Iowa’s congressional delegation voted along party lines Wednesday on a high profile measure that would curtail the National Security Agency’s spy program.

The amendment, pushed by U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., would have defunded the program and banned a number of its data collection practices. It ultimately failed by 12 votes, with Republicans taking the unusual move of voting against their own caucus.

Iowa Republicans Tom Latham, of Clive, and Steve King, of Kiron, both voted against the measure. Their Democratic counterparts Bruce Braley, of Waterloo, and Dave Loebsack, of Iowa City, both voted in favor of the amendment.

The surveillance program has allowed the federal government to secretly amass telephone data from Americans and foreigners. It has caused a firestorm of controversy since it was made public several months ago by former security contractor Edward Snowden.

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Contact Sheena Dooley at dooley@iowawatchdog.org. Sheena Dooley is the Iowa bureau chief for Watchdog.org, where this story first appeared.

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