On 17 August, a federal judge ruled that the domestic surveillance program run by the National Security Agency (NSA) violated constitutional guarantees of free speech and privacy rights. The Court ordered the Agency to immediately cease intercepting communications without warrant where one party to the communication is outside the United States.  In September, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill drafted by Senator Arlen Specter in close consultation with the White House. If adopted by Congress, the bill would provide explicit Congressional authorization for a surveillance program without warrant and make compliance with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) optional.