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Article snippet: The House is set to vote on Thursday on a controversial renewal of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) warrantless surveillance program — a vote that could give privacy advocates an unexpected victory. If the legislation passes in its current form, the Senate is expected to quickly take it up before the law authorizing the program expires on Jan. 19. But the House is also expected to vote on a bipartisan amendment imposing a series of restrictions on the program designed to protect Americans who are swept up in government spying on foreigners overseas. The night before the vote, the fate of the amendment — from Rep. MORE (R-Mich.) — was still an open question. Supporters of the amendment were bullish about their chances, and even backers of the underlying measure conceded that the vote on the amendment is likely to be extremely tight. “We don’t know, but despite the statements that they have the votes to bring it down, I don’t think they do,” said Rep. MORE (R-Texas), who supports the privacy amendment. “I don’t think anyone can know for sure right now.” At issue is a law passed in 2008 — known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — that allows the NSA to collect texts and emails of foreigners abroad without an individualized warrant, even when they communicate with Americans in the U.S. Throughout the fall, privacy advocates on Capitol Hill have pushed for changes to the law that critics say are necessary to ensure Fourth Amendmen... Link to the full article to read more