The USA FREEDOM Act, introduced Oct. 29, 2013 aims to rein in the excessive National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance of Americans revealed by the Edward Snowden leaks. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) would place limits on the intelligence community’s ability to gather bulk records of Americans’ phone calls and emails, clarify the parameters of warrantless wiretaps and create a privacy advocate for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court. Already the bill has significant support, with 86 co-sponsors in the House and 16 in the Senate.

Sensenbrenner, the lead author of the Patriot Act, said NSA surveillance has gone far beyond what Congress ever intended; “The misrepresentation of the law threatens our First, Second and Fourth Amendment rights” he said. Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, echoed his colleague’s concerns, saying that “surveillance programs conducted under [FISA] are far broader than the American people previously understood. It is time for serious and meaningful reforms so we can restore confidence in our intelligence community.”

The USA FREEDOM Act would amend section 215 of the Patriot Act that allows bulk collection of meta-data on American’s phone calls by limiting the collection to known terrorists and spies or those in contact with known terrorists or spies. The bill would also prevent the government from searching for information about U.S. citizens collected through section 702 of FISA, which governs surveillance of persons outside the U.S. It also limits the type of information that can be collected for counterterrorism purposes and makes evidence gained in violation of privacy procedures inadmissible in court.

These changes could allay some of the concerns that nonprofits and others have about the impact of this data collection on their freedom of association, privacy and critical overseas programs. Currently the Charity & Security Network is party to a lawsuit against section 215 for creating a chilling effect on nonprofits. International organizations have also expressed concern of a chilling impact on their ability work with partners in the field.

More information on the impact of NSA surveillance on Nonprofits can he found HERE.