The USA Freedom Act, aimed at curbing the National Security Agency's bulk collection of data about Americans' communications has been blocked as it did not receive the necessary votes to proceed in the Senate.
According to the Washington Post, lawmakers fell two votes shy of the 60 needed to proceed to a floor debate on the USA Freedom Act, which sought to put limits on the bulk collection of Americans' records.
The NSA collection effort was revealed last year by former agency contractor Edward Snowden.
The NSA collects call times, dates and durations of calls but not the content of calls.
Paul, a likely presidential candidate, said that he opposed the bill because it did not go far enough to limit surveillance powers.
The bill received the support of the Obama administration, including the director of national intelligence and attorney general, as well as many tech companies and a diverse range of groups including the National Rifle Association and the American Civil Liberties Union.