WASHINGTON Cheap Nike Air Max 98 AOP Men's Camo Khaki Orange UK , May 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Saturday rejected a bill that would curb the country's National Security Agency (NSA)'s bulk collection of telephone data, leaving it uncertain the fate of the once-secret program ahead of its expiration at the end of the month.
The bill, USA Freedom Act, which would have ended the NSA's bulk collection but preserved its ability to search the records held by phone companies on a case-by-case basis, fell three votes short of the 60 votes needed for passage in the Senate.
The bill, backed by President Barack Obama Cheap Men's Nike Air Max 98 Neon Cool Grey Black UK , the nation's top law enforcement and intelligence officials, was passed overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives early this month.
After Senate's rejection of the bill in the wee hours of Saturday, another attempt to extend the expiring provision of Patriot Act, which authorizes the NSA's spying program, was also blocked in the Senate.
The disarray in Congress appeared to significantly increase the chances that the government will lose systematic access to newly created calling records by Americans, at least temporarily Cheap Nike Air Max 98 SE Team Red Men's UK , after June 1.
The Senate will reconvene on May 31 to try again. But any extension is far from certain to get approval from the House, which is in recess until June 1, with at least one member threatening to block it.
Under the House bill, which passed 338 to 88, the Patriot Act would be changed to prohibit bulk collection by NSA of metadata charting telephone calls made by Americans. While the bill would take the government out of the collection business, it would not deny it access to the information.
The debate over the federal program became intense after the government's extensive surveillance efforts were exposed by Edward Snowden Cheap Men's Supreme x Nike Air Max 98 Black UK , a former NSA contractor. It was complicated by a federal appeals court ruling this month that found the NSA's bulk collection of phone records illegal.
The odd collection of advocates for change underscored a changing tide in post-Sept. 11 America, where privacy concerns have become as important as national security interests for many people.
" This Nov. 14, 2013 file photo shows confiscated decorative ivory piled together in preparation to be destroyed during an event at the National Wildlife Property Repository at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Commerce City, Colo.
The United States is cracking down on the sale and purchase of ivory in hopes of curbing a surge in illicit poaching that's threatening to wipe out elephants and other species in Africa.
The ivory ban is a key component of a new, national strategy for combating wildlife trafficking, unveiled Tuesday by the White House Cheap Supreme x Nike Air Max 98 White UK , seven months after President Barack Obama issued a call to action during a visit to Tanzania. In addition, the U.S. will seek to strengthen global enforcement and international cooperation to fight an illicit trade estimated to total about $10 billion per year.
""We're seeing record-high demand for wildlife products,"" said Grant Harris, who heads Africa policy for the White House's National Security Council. ""The result is an explosion of illicit trade and wildlife trafficking in recent years.""
Wildlife advocates are concerned that without forceful global action, elephants and rhinos face extinction. Once numbering in the millions, Africa's elephant population has dwindled to 500 Cheap Nike Air Max 270 Womens UK ,000 or less, said Dan Ashe, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. About 35,000 — or nearly 10 percent of the remaining population — are being slaughtered each year.
The illicit industry also has significant national security implications. Because wildlife trafficking is often perpetrated by well-armed syndicates that thrive in regions with weak laws and porous borders, U.S. security officials say it poses a global security threat, just as the U.S. is seeking to combat growing extremism and violence in parts of Africa.
The crackdown relies on laws about conservation and endangered species that have been on the books for years Cheap Nike Air Max 270 Mens UK , including decades-old prohibitions on importing ivory. But inconsistent implementation and lax enforcement have meant that once the ivory is in the U.S., domestic transactions have been essentially unregulated.
That means someone who placed an ivory chess set for sale on eBay, for example, faced little risk of running afoul of law enforcement — even if they lacked proof the item met one of the exceptions, such as being an antique.
""This legal trade has essentially provided a smoke-screen that makes it possible for this illicit trade and has made it more difficult for our enforcement officials to ferret out that crime and then prosecute that crime,"" Ashe said in an interview.
Under the new strategy Cheap Nike Air Max 2018 Womens UK , if someone is caught trying to sell ivory items, the government will confiscate them unless sellers can provide documentation that they are legal. Sales across state lines will be banned except for antiques — items more than 100 years old. Sales within states will also be prohibited unless sellers can show they were brought into the U.S. before laws barring their import were put into effect.
Exports will also be banned, with few exceptions.
""For consumers, the general message going forward is buyer beware,"" Ashe said.
Despite the exceptions, officials said they were confident that the crackdown would result in almost a complete ban on ivory sales. The idea is that by setting a strict example Cheap Nike Air Max 2018 Mens UK , the U.S. can spur other countries to take similar steps, driving down global demand for wildlife products and putting traffickers out of business.
Late last year, U.S. officials destroyed more than 6 tons of confiscated ivory tusks, carvings and jewelry. Last week, France followed suit by pulverizing more than 3 tons of illegal ivory, and other nations including Gabon and China have taken similar steps.
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