With 273 votes in favor and 147 votes against, the US House of Representatives approved the extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) - a spying program considered very important to US national security, scheduled to expire on April 19.

Section 702 allows the US government to collect the communications of foreign citizens outside the US without a court order. The provision has been opposed by some lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties as well as some organizations because the government sometimes collects data on US citizens who communicate with foreigners under surveillance.

An amendment was introduced to add a provision requiring a court order in certain situations, but it failed to pass in a 212-212 vote.

The White House and intelligence officials warn that seeking a court order would undermine FISA and leave the United States “blind” to intelligence that could help detect terrorism or other risks to national security.

SOUTH