Senate

Wednesday: NSA, trade

by Jordain Carney - 05/13/15 8:03 AM ET

House lawmakers will take up legislation Wednesday to overhaul a National Security Agency (NSA) program.

Lawmakers are expected to debate the USA Freedom Act, which would end the intelligence agency’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records and extend parts of the Patriot Act.

{mosads}The House Rules Committee voted Tuesday to prohibit amendments to the legislation.

The House will convene at 10 a.m. for morning hour and noon for legislative business. First votes are expected between 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., with final votes between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

House lawmakers will also debate legislation that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks.

Meanwhile, the Senate is looking for a way forward on “fast track” trade legislation after Democrats blocked a procedural vote Tuesday on moving forward with the legislation.

The trade proposal would allow President Obama to get his trade agreements approved by a simple majority vote in Congress.

Senate Democrats want McConnell to combine the fast-track bill with three other pieces of trade legislation, including a customs bill that would address currency manipulation.

But McConnell said after the vote that he “explicitly did not offer the currency amendment” to the trade legislation because it would have killed the proposal.

The Senate is expected to convene at 9:30 a.m. for leader remarks and morning business. Around approximately 10:30 a.m., they’ll restart debate over the trade legislation.

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