[Infowarrior] - Senate voting on 'USA FREEDOM' after all

[Richard Forno]

Senate Plans Vote on House-Passed NSA Spying Curbs

by Chris Strohm
3:17 PM EDT 
May 19, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-19/senate-plans-vote-on-house-passed-bill-curbing-nsa-spying-powers

The Senate will vote this week on a bill passed by the House prohibiting the National Security Agency from collecting bulk records, yet renewing U.S. spy programs set to expire in two weeks, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said.

McConnell has faced mounting pressure from Democrats and companies such as Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. to allow a vote on legislation that curbs some of the NSA’s spying powers revealed in 2013 by former U.S. contractor Edward Snowden.

It was unclear if the House-backed bill has enough votes to pass the Senate. McConnell and Senator John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, told reporters in Washington Tuesday they were searching for a possible backup plan, which could include trying to pass a temporary one-month extension. Democrats have said they oppose a short-term action.

Three provisions of the USA Patriot Act expire on June 1, including the power to access millions of phone call records in order to find suspected terrorists. McConnell and other lawmakers have said it would be dangerous if the authorities lapsed for U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

“We have a way to solve this right now,” Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in an interview in Washington. “Do what the House did. They reflected the will of the American people. Republican and Democrats came together on an overwhelming bipartisan vote.”

The House bill, called the USA Freedom Act, passed on May 13 by a lopsided 338-88 vote.


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