Lawmakers Call for Termination of NSA Domestic Surveillance Program

The bill seeks to shape debate about domestic NSA surveillance before portions of the Patriot Act, which authorize some of the capabilities, expire at the end of the year. Two House committees are also in the early stages of discussing legislation.

The spying program once sought to vacuum up in bulk the metadata of all domestic call records—including their date, time and phone numbers—but not their contents. It was exposed publicly by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden nearly six years ago, the first of a torrent of revelations that touched off debate in Washington over whether the intelligence agencies had overreached and been too dismissive of privacy concerns following the 2001 terrorist attacks. Congress then overhauled parts of the program.

Ending the program entirely was once considered unthinkable, as intelligence leaders repeatedly argued that it is vital to national security. But officials now concede the program poses challenges and have indicated a potential willingness to see it shelved.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported earlier this month that the NSA was considering ending the metadata program because it lacks operational value and has struggled to address legal compliance issues. Any final decision about whether to end the program would be made by the White House, not the NSA, and it is unclear if the Trump administration would be willing to relinquish the authority.

Luke Murry, a national-security adviser for Republican congressional leaders, disclosed in a recent podcast interview with the Lawfare security blog that the NSA hadn’t used the program in the past six months and might not seek its renewal.

The NSA declined to comment. Gen. Paul Nakasone, the NSA’s director, said in remarks at a cybersecurity conference in San Francisco earlier this month that officials were in a “deliberative process” about the future of the program.

Following Mr. Snowden’s 2013 disclosures, Congress passed the USA Freedom Act in 2015, requiring the spy agency to replace its bulk metadata program with a pared-down system under which call records were retained by telephone companies.

Privacy advocates have said the new system continues to pose concerns and that evidence of its value to national security is scant. Despite the rollback, the NSA reported collecting 151 million call records in 2016 related to 42 terrorism suspects, and 534 million call records in 2017 connected to 40 suspects.

Mr. Wyden, in a statement, said the legislation was an opening bid intended to spark debate on a broader overhaul of the provision of the Patriot Act that authorizes the metadata program, known as Section 215.

“The NSA’s sprawling phone records dragnet was born in secrecy, defended with lies and never stopped a single terrorist attack,” Mr. Wyden said.

It is unclear how much support the proposal will gain in Congress. Some Democrats and libertarian-leaning Republicans have repeatedly questioned the value of the data-collection program.

Nearly every senator running for the Democratic presidential nomination, including Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, voted last year against renewing a warrantless surveillance program without substantial reforms. The renewal passed without the reforms.

Write to Dustin Volz at dustin.volz@wsj.com