Fifty-nine members of the Senate just voted in favor of my amendment to block warrantless government surveillance of Americans’ browser history. It failed by just one vote. McConnell is that much closer to giving Bill Barr the green light to spy on Americans’ private information. https://t.co/IV5ERbte48

— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) May 13, 2020

The amendment senators did pass, by a 77-19 margin, was introduced by Patrick Leahy (D, Vermont) and Mike Lee (R, Utah). As described by the ACLU, it “strengthens the role of independent “friends of the court” to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, ensuring that the court has additional opportunities to hear the views of outside experts.”

BREAKING: BIG win tonight for the protection of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties! My bipartisan amendment with @SenMikeLee to reform our flawed #FISA surveillance authorities just passed 77-19.

Tomorrow we turn to the underlying bill, and then on to House.

— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) May 13, 2020

In an op-ed published Sunday seeking support for the measures, the senators said “The key to our proposal is to substantially strengthen a program that currently allows FISA judges, in very limited circumstances, to appoint outside legal scholars — called “amici”— to independently analyze FBI surveillance requests that are particularly sensitive…We propose measures that would authorize and actively encourage judges in this secret court to seek independent amicus reviews in all sensitive cases — such as those involving significant First Amendment issues — thereby adding a layer of protection for those who will likely never know they have been targeted for secret surveillance.”

In response to the votes, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel Neema Singh Guliani said in a statement “After many years of just rubberstamping laws used to commit civil liberties violations, Congress has overwhelmingly passed changes that will help ensure that government claims before a secret intelligence court do not go unchecked. The House should not consider any legislation that excludes these important changes.

But this won’t address all of the surveillance abuses that have come to light in recent years and Congress has more work to do to protect Americans’ privacy online. The vote today shows that a majority of senators agree that what we do online should not be subject to warrantless surveillance — and it’s past time for Congress to make this clear in our laws.”

On Thursday the Senate will vote on the third proposed amendment, from Rand Paul, that would require a warrant for the use of FISA searches on US citizens.