The Amash Amendment Fails, Barely
A bi-partisan surveillance amendment that would have defunded the NSA's phone metadata collection program failed to pass an unlikely House vote on Wednesday. But the results of the vote are quite notable. The amendment, introduced by Republican Justin Amash, failed 205-217, just a 12-vote margin. And despite its GOP origins, more Democrats than Republicans voted for it.
RT if you agree- We can protect Americans without shredding our civil liberties. Rein in the NSA today. pic.twitter.com/Wp8g4HlTJ6
— House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudDems) July 24, 2013
The party vote breakdown? 111 Democrats voted for Amash, with 83 against. By comparison, 134 Republicans voted against the amendment, with 94 agreeing to it. That indicates a remarkable amount of support, and from the surprising source of the president's own party, for a bill that wasn't even supposed to get a floor vote.
We came close (205-217). If just 7 Reps had switched their votes, we would have succeeded. Thank YOU for making a difference. We fight on.
— Justin Amash (@repjustinamash) July 24, 2013
And that's despite a statement straight from the White House urging congressmen to vote against it. "The White House's 'furious' whip operation of Democrats seems to have won today," Amash staffer Will Adams told the Atlantic Wire regarding the high Democratic support, adding, "How sad for a President that claims to care about our civil liberties."
