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Rep. Justin Amash hosts a 'Stand with Rand' event for Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul at the Kent County Republican Party Headquarters in Grand Rapids on Monday, May 4, 2015. Amash announced his endorsement of Paul's run for president in 2016.

(MLive.com File Photo)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- House lawmakers, on the heels of a federal appeals court ruling that the National Security Agency phone data collection was "unlawful," are expected to take up the USA Freedom Act in the coming days.

U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, who once supported the Freedom Act but has since said the measure was gutted of its privacy protections, cheered the court's decision on Twitter

More: NSA court ruling: Here's what you should know

The court said Thursday, May 7, that the program's unwarranted bulk collection program was illegal because it was not authorized by Congress, according to the Associated Press. It continues in its current form, but there's growing debate among legislators as to what changes need to be made.

One solution, which The Hill calls the most likely option, has been the USA Freedom Act. It passed the House last spring but later failed in the Senate.

Amash has called for a return to the original legislation rather than a bill that was "gutted" during committee and amendment process because it continued the NSA program rather than stopping it altogether.

The newest version of the bill shifts the collection and storage of phone metadata -- information including the call's length, the phone number that made the call and the number called -- from the government to the phone companies themselves.

However, the NSA would be allowed to request records under court order, the AP reports.

Amash spokesman Jordan Bush pointed to a statement on the congressman's Facebook page following the court ruling last week.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., visiting Grand Rapids during an presidential campaign event hosted by Amash May 4, said he'd end the NSA's surveillance programs on day one if elected to the White House.

Paul plans to filibuster the Patriot Act, which is up for renewal this month, and attempt to end the NSA's collection programs when debate begins in the Senate.

Andrew Krietz covers breaking, politics and transportation news for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at akrietz@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.