House eyes possible early plans to renew Patriot Act

Lawmakers could renew controversial expiring elements of the Patriot Act as early as this month, according to the House’s No. 2 Republican.

In a memo to GOP lawmakers on Thursday, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said his chamber could examine the three expiring sections by the end of the month — a quicker timeframe than many watchers had expected. 

{mosads}“Additionally, as the threat to our homeland from foreign terrorist groups like ISIL and al Qaeda — or from foreign fighter flows to and from Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen — continues to grow, the House may consider reauthorization of key provisions of the USA Patriot Act in April,” McCarthy wrote. ISIL is an alternate acronym for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

{mosads}“These provisions, which expire at the end of May, are necessary to maintain the U.S. Intelligence Community’s ability to monitor the communications and activities of foreign terrorists who seek to attack the homeland,” he added.

Legislators have yet to settle on a plan to confront the three expiring laws, even as the deadline is rapidly approaching. Though the provisions are scheduled to expire on June 1, lawmakers are scheduled to be out of town following Memorial Day and will need to act by May 22.

Among the expiring portions of the law, which was first passed in the days after 9/11, is the contentious Section 215, which the National Security Agency (NSA) has used to authorize the collection of bulk records about millions of Americans’ phone calls. The NSA’s program gathers phone “metadata,” which includes records about which numbers people dial and when but not the actual content of their conversations.

In the wake of Edward Snowden’s disclosures about the NSA, President Obama has called for Congress to effectively end the current phone records program and replace it with a system that allows the spy agency to get specific records from phone companies after receiving a court order. Congress came within two votes of passing reform along those lines last year.

Civil libertarians on both sides of the aisle have fought back against any effort to renew the current program as it currently exists, which has raised the early signs of a heated battle.   

Focus on the NSA has dimmed in the nearly two years since Snowden’s leaks, but the looming deadline — coupled with attention from public figures like comedian John Oliver — may give reformers some momentum. However, they will be up against supporters of the program who have said that rising fears about ISIS and other groups should compel lawmakers to think twice before acting in a way that could undermine American security.  

– Corrected to note McCarthy’s proper title at 3:31 p.m.