National security surveillance authorities to expire after Senate negotiations collapse
Source: CNN
National security surveillance authorities to expire after Senate negotiations collapse
By Alex Rogers, Jeremy Herb and Manu Raju, CNN
Updated 2047 GMT (0447 HKT) March 12, 2020
(CNN) Senators are expected to leave Washington on Thursday without striking an agreement on a crucial surveillance law, setting the stage for various national security provisions to expire on Sunday.
The Senate debate collapsed over whether to give some concessions to the law's critics, such as votes on their amendments to the bill overhauling the surveillance law, or to pass a temporary extension providing more time to negotiate.
The Senate leadership hoped to vote on the bill as soon as Thursday and pledged that if the authorities lapsed it would only be for a short period. But its critics, including Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah, argued that the changes didn't go far enough to fix the surveillance law known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.
"Senate Republican leaders are trying to ram through fake FISA amendments without any real changes," Paul tweeted. "I will object. I continue to stand with @realDonaldTrump in his reservations to this bill."
Lee asked for unanimous consent for a 45-day FISA extension. Sen. Richard Burr, the chairman of the Intelligence committee, objected.
-snip-
Read more:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/12/politics/fisa-reauthorization-expiration-congress/index.html
______________________________________________________________________
Source:
The Hill
Trump tells GOP senator he does not support House surveillance deal
BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 03/12/20 07:09 PM EDT
President Trump told Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Thursday that he does not support a House-passed surveillance bill raising fresh questions about the fate of the legislation.
A spokesman for Lee confirmed the conversation and that the president told the Utah Republican that he does not support the House legislation. Officials speaking for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lee and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) have been working to kill the House bill, including urging Trump to veto it if it reaches his desk, over concerns that it does not go far enough to reform the court associated with the Freedom Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Lee tried, but failed, to get the Senate to pass a 45-day extension of three soon-to-expire provisions of the USA Freedom Act, as well as guarantee votes on amendments to the House legislation, which pairs a reauthorization of the provisions with some changes to the FISA process.
-snip-
Read more:
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/487366-trump-tells-gop-senator-he-does-not-support-house-surveillance-deal