The Patriot Act’s powers to obtain phone and Internet records may finally be curtailed through a bipartisan effort, more than a decade after the act was first signed into law and a year after a similar effort failed. The proposed changes, backed by an alliance that includes Democrats and Tea Party Republicans, would restrict mass surveillance, order the declassification of major FISA court opinions, and create a civil-rights advisory panel for the FISA court. The Patriot Act is set to expire June 1.
