Week ahead: NSA fight nears pivotal showdown

With Congress headed toward Memorial Day weekend and a recess, the debate over the NSA’s mass surveillance is set to come to a head.

The House this week passed the USA Freedom Act, which would alter provisions of the Patriot Act that the NSA uses to collect bulk metadata about U.S. phone calls without a warrant.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) supports the provisions as they stand and favors reauthorizing the program wholesale. Though the chances of a full reauthorization are unclear, McConnell has filed a two-month “clean” extension of the provisions that lawmakers could use to buy more time. 

{mosads}Senators could also pass the House’s reform bill, which sailed through the lower chamber by a wide margin, or they could choose to limit the bill’s reforms and send it back to their colleagues on the other side of the Capitol.

Whatever happens, lawmakers will be fighting against the clock to get a deal done before the provisions expire on June 1.

Next week will also bring new action on patent reform. The House Judiciary Committee is planning to mark up the Innovation Act, which is aimed at stopping “patent trolls” who make money by targeting companies with patent infringement lawsuits.

The Senate’s version was introduced earlier this year, but lawmakers have not yet scheduled a markup of the legislation. Last month, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he hoped the bill could be on the Senate floor by the summer.

The markup in the House could be good news for tech firms who want Congress to crack down on the trolls. 

The Senate Judiciary subcommittee on crime will hold a hearing  Tuesday about law enforcement’s use of body cameras that record encounters between civilians and the police.

RECENT STORIES

Reddit is bringing an anti-harassment policy to its sometimes-unruly forums: http://bit.ly/1ICPNlc

Companies want net neutrality rules as part of AT&T-DirecTV merger: http://bit.ly/1Hjoo7E

David Plouffe is getting a new job at Uber, and a Google exec is taking his place: http://bit.ly/1Hliov3

Civil rights and privacy groups want police to abide by these principles when implementing body cameras: http://bit.ly/1FoV2Ex

Larry Ellison is reportedly backing Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) bid for the White House: http://bit.ly/1A72Ata