Senators back short-term surveillance extension amid standoff
Key senators signaled on Tuesday that they would support a short-term extension of soon-to-expire surveillance programs if lawmakers are not able to break the stalemate by the mid-March deadline.
Congress has until March 15 to extend three provisions of the USA Freedom Act dealing with lone wolf surveillance, roving wiretaps and a controversial phone records program that allows the government to request phone metadata.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that his “preference” would be to provide some sort of extension for the expiring authorities if Congress isn’t able to get a larger agreement.
“My own preference is to extend these three or four expiring authorities … but there are differences among my members and among the Democrats on the way forward. Whether we can resolve those and pass new legislation is unclear. If we’re unable to resolve our differences my preference would be for another extension,” McConnell said.
Meanwhile, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said he would support a short-term extension “if that’s all you get.”
The prospect of needing another stopgap bill comes as neither chamber has been able to get a deal on legislation, increasing the odds of a short-term extension.
Republicans are deeply divided over whether to use the reauthorization of expiring provisions in the USA Freedom Act, a 2015 law that overhauled intelligence programs, to also force broader changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court.
Some of President Trump’s biggest allies on Capitol Hill want to muscle through FISA reforms now. Attorney General William Barr is supporting a “clean” reauthorization.
Trump is expected to meet with a group of GOP lawmakers at the White House on Tuesday to see if there is a path toward a deal.
Meanwhile, House Democrats had to pull their own bill in the Judiciary Committee last week after Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) threatened to force votes on several FISA-related amendments.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday that negotiations are ongoing but the closer they get to the deadline the more likely a short-term extension becomes.
“I think every day that goes by — I don’t think anybody wants to see FISA authority lapse — so, that increases that likelihood,” Hoyer told reporters.
If lawmakers are forced to do a short-term extension, it’s unclear how long that stopgap bill would be. They included a 90-day extension in a government funding bill that passed late last year, setting up the March 15 deadline.
Leadership would also have to decide whether or not to pass the extension as a standalone or fold it into other things. The only bill that is expected to pass both chambers by the deadline is a spending bill to combat the coronavirus.
But House leadership, the White House and Senate Democrats have warned against bogging down the coronavirus legislation with unrelated issues.
Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said he thought a standalone short-term bill could pass the Senate.
“We can do temporary fixes, if that’s the answer. If it’s a matter of a few months,” Durbin said.
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