Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy proposed a bill on Tuesday that would limit some of the government's surveillance practices, especially those of the National Security Agency.

According to VPR, Leahy said he aims to end the NSA practice of large data searches.

"This is a debate about Americans fundamental relationship with their government, about whether our government should have the power to create massive data bases of information about its citizens, or whether we are in control of our own government and not the other way around," the Virginia democrat said on the Senate floor.

The bill would stop large collections of company records by spy and law enforcement agencies, limit the number of allowed government record requests, increase the amount of information that spies release to the public and introduce a privacy advocate at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to review NSA requests, Wall Street Journal reports.

"In other words, there won't be just one voice that's heard," Leahy explained according to VPR. "You'll actually have dissenting voices."

If the bill passes, it will be the first bill to put limitations on the country's spy agencies since the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, according to WSJ. The law created oversight guidelines for spy agencies.

"To what extent does this massive collection of data improve our national security?" Leahy said according to VPR. "What cost to our privacy and free expression? If we pick up everything, do we actually have anything?"

The bill's introduction comes ahead of the August congressional recess, giving the bill's supporters time to put pressure on lawmakers.

"[The bill] significantly constrains the out-of-control surveillance authorities," Laura Murphy, director of American Civil Liberties Union's Washington office, told WSJ. "While this bill is not perfect, it is the beginning of the real NSA reform."

"[The bill represents] the equities of intelligence professionals while crafting privacy enhancements," Ned Price, National Security Council spokesman added. "While there are a number of additional steps that must take place before this critical bill becomes law, we are encouraged by the recent progress in the Senate."
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