VOA慢速英语2015 奥巴马签署法律条文结束NSA收集电话记录行为

AS IT IS 2015-06-04 Obama Signs Law Ending NSA Collection of Phone Records 奥巴马签署法律条文结束NSA收集电话记录行为

President Barack Obama has signed a bill to reform and restart the collection of Americans’ telephone records. The president said the new law, called the USA Freedom Act, “protects civil liberties and our national security.”

Up until this week, the U.S. government collected the phone records as part of a program to prevent terrorist attacks. But Congressional action was required to extend or amend¹ the program.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that includes the collection of phone records. The House of Representatives had approved the bill several days earlier. The measure also extends two other national security programs that required congressional action to continue.

The new law halts the National Security Agency’s ability to collect telephone numbers, dates and times of calls from Americans who have no ties to terrorism. Instead, it makes telecommunications companies responsible for collecting such information. Under the law, the companies can supply the phone data to U.S. officials only after a secret anti-terrorism court approves a warrant. The court order has to identify either the person or group of people suspected of links to terrorism.

The U.S. telecommunications industry has been publicly silent on the measure. America’s third-largest phone company, Sprint², refused to comment when asked about the legislation.

Many major Internet businesses declared victory with the Senate vote on Tuesday. In a statement, Internet services company Yahoo said, “The USA Freedom Act realizes hard-fought and much-needed wins for Internet users everywhere.” The top lawyer for Microsoft Corporation, General Counsel Brad Smith, also praised Congress. He said the Senate vote “will help restore the balance between protecting public safety and preserving civil liberties.”

The American Civil Liberties Union praised the USA Freedom Act, but said it did not go far enough. Human Rights Watch also released a statement. It said the new law “marks what could be a turn of the tide against mass surveillance,” but fails to correct other modern methods for gathering³ information.

The U.S. government began keeping records of telephone numbers just after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011. The Senate’s vote Tuesday followed days of sharp debate among the lawmakers. Republican Party members were split over their support for strong measures to guard against terrorism and the need for personal privacy protections.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned of a less secure America. He called the vote, “a resounding⁴ victory for those who currently plot against our homeland.”

“It surely undermines Americans’ security by taking one more tool from our war-fighters, in my view, at exactly the wrong time.”

But other Senators, like Democrat⁵ Richard Blumenthal, praised the measure as a safeguard for privacy.

“We need to strike a balance that protects very precious constitutional rights and liberties. After all, what does our surveillance and intelligence system protect if not these fundamental values and rights of privacy, and liberties that have lasted and served us well?”

To get to a final vote, the Senate had to find a way to end Republican Senator Rand Paul’s efforts to delay congressional action. He objects to the collection of phone records by business or government as an unconstitutional violation⁶ of Americans’ privacy.

Words in This Story

liberties – n. political rights

warrant – n. a court order

surveillance – adj. intelligence-gathering; watching someone carefully

precious – adj. extremely valuable or important

1 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

2 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。