With the Patriot Act expiration looming at midnight, senators appeared no closer Sunday to a deal with Republican leaders insisting on either a full extension of all powers or else nothing at all.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican who orchestrated the deadline showdown, called the Senate for an exceptionally rare Sunday session but said the chamber would be in for only an hour before recessing so leaders could test whether there is a solution.
“We’re here now facing another manufactured crisis,” said Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, who laid the blame squarely at Mr. McConnell’s feet.
He said Mr. McConnell “simply didn’t have a plan” for how to manage the fight.
President Obama, Republicans and Democrats in the House, and Democrats in the Senate have urged Mr. McConnell to relent and pass the USA Freedom Act, which would extend all Patriot Act powers while making clear that the government cannot collect bulk records on Americans.
The House passed the USA Freedom Act earlier in May and is in recess until Monday, which is after the deadline for the Patriot Act powers to expire. That means the only way to prevent expiration is for the Senate to pass the USA Freedom Act.
But Mr. McConnell and most Senate Republicans stand in the way of the bill, arguing that bulk collection and the National Security Agency’s phone-snooping program are critical at a time of rising terrorist threats.
Mr. McConnell tried to orchestrate the schedule to force his colleagues to accept his full extension, but he badly miscalculated and backed himself into a corner.
On Sunday, House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, sent a stark message to Senate Republicans urging them to relent and hinting that they were playing games with national security.
“Anyone who is satisfied with letting this critical intelligence capability go dark isn’t taking the terrorist threat seriously. I’d urge the Senate to pass the bipartisan USA Freedom Act, and do so expeditiously,” Mr. Boehner said.
Three powers of the Patriot Act are due to expire: roving wiretaps to follow terrorist suspects across phones; lone-wolf powers that allow investigators to deem someone a terrorist even without a firm link to an existing terrorist organization; and the records-collection power, contained in Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which allows investigators to demand businesses to turn over their customers’ documents and records.
The Bush and Obama administrations have used Section 215 to justify the NSA’s phone-snooping program, which gathers metadata on all Americans’ phone calls. Investigators probe the information when they suspect a phone number is associated with terrorists.
Most lawmakers don’t oppose the business records provision, but a majority say it should be used narrowly, rather than scooping all all Americans’ records at the same time.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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