U.S. Congress mulls days-long extension of surveillance plan
Source: Reuters
The U.S. Congress may deal with the June 1 expiration of a program allowing spy agencies to sweep up huge amounts of data about Americans' phone calls by extending it for just a few days, until after lawmakers return from an upcoming 10-day recess, lawmakers and congressional aides said on Tuesday.
Although both chambers are controlled by Republicans, leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate have been unable to agree on how to prevent the expiration of provisions of the USA Patriot Act that provide the legal basis for the collection of billions of telephone call records and other business information.
The program has been a deep concern for privacy advocates since it was exposed two years ago by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who is now a fugitive in Russia.
There is strong support among Republicans and Democrats for extensive reform of the program, but few want it to expire. U.S. intelligence officials insist it is necessary to protect Americans.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/19/us-usa-security-nsa-idUSKBN0O41SD20150519