House Rejects Bill That Would Require Feds To Obtain a Warrant To Spy on Americans [Video]

Congress has rejected a bill that would require the federal government to obtain a warrant to spy on Americans’ private data via third parties.

HR 4639, “The Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act” (FANSA), would amend the U.S. code to clarify that the Fourth Amendment applies to information obtained through commercial means in addition to traditional searches.

The bill would have prohibited the US. government from purchasing Americas’ private data without a valid warrant.

Theepochtimes.com reports: The bill was widely believed to have broad bipartisan support and was a critical piece of ongoing negotiations to extend authorization for the controversial Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which effectively allows the government to spy on American citizens if those citizens have communicated with someone outside the country.

The bill was voted down 176–246, with one lawmaker voting present.

Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) said on the House floor that the …