The bill isn't perfect, but it'll mean that the government collects less information on innocent people, there'll be greater transparency, and an advocate for citizen privacy in the FISA court. Beyond that, it's the most likely vehicle for NSA reform. We're unlikely to see anything stronger if this doesn't pass. And it seems like a better bet than trying to push for Section 215 to sunset next year.
As per the article I linked, it also likely nullifies the Klayman case, a case which could very likely turn out to have an even bigger effect than this bill.
Some background to those not familiar from Wikipedia[0]:
~Filing~
"In Klayman I, the plaintiffs, subscribers of Verizon Wireless, brought suit against the NSA, the Department of Justice, Verizon Communications, President Barack Obama, Eric Holder, the United States Attorney General, and General Keith B. Alexander, the Director of the National Security Agency.[5] The plaintiffs alleged that the government is conducting a "secret and illegal government scheme to intercept vast quantities of domestic telephonic communications" and that the program violates First, Fourth and Fifth Amendment and exceeds statutory authority granted by Section 215.[5] In Klayman II, the plaintiffs sued the same government defendants and in addition, Facebook, Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, YouTube, AOL, PalTalk, Skype, Sprint, AT&T, Apple again alleging the bulk metadata collection violates the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendment and constitutes divulgence of communication records in violation of Section 2702 of Stored Communications Act.[4]"
~Current Status~
"On January 3, 2014 the government filed notice of appeal. On February 21, 2014 government filed a motion for extension of time to file dispositive motions in wake of the President's changes to Section 215 metadata program on January 17, 2014.[17][18] The parties argued the case before a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on November 4, 2014.[19]"
I don't have a lot of faith in the chances of success of a Larry Klayman suit. If he actually does manage to pull it off, it'll be the world's best evidence of the old adage about the stopped clock being right twice a day.
(In the last month, Klayman has filed suit accusing Obama of intentionally allowing Ebola-infected ISIS suicide troops into the US to kill Christians, Jews, and whites; the complaint ended with a demand that Obama be deported since he isn't a citizen. He is not the kind of standard-bearer any cause wants.)
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/08/understanding-new-usa-...
The bill isn't perfect, but it'll mean that the government collects less information on innocent people, there'll be greater transparency, and an advocate for citizen privacy in the FISA court. Beyond that, it's the most likely vehicle for NSA reform. We're unlikely to see anything stronger if this doesn't pass. And it seems like a better bet than trying to push for Section 215 to sunset next year.