Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's bid to to pass an unchanged PATRIOT Act,
bolstered by Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr, doesn't seem to be working. McConnell has refused to take up the USA Freedom Act sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators, and likewise is refusing to take up the House version of the bill passed earlier this week. Those bills reform provisions of the PATRIOT Act, including the illegal bulk collection of cellphone metadata, that are expiring at the end of the month. The end of the month comes early for Congress, as it's leaving in just a week's time for a long Memorial Day recess. McConnell has been delaying a vote in hopes that the rest of the Congress will cave and pass his extension at the last minute, when threatened with vague "our national security depends on it" pronouncements. But opposition in the Senate isn't buying it. As a result, McConnell has shortened his straight reauthorization proposal to last just two months. It
still isn't flying.
The Senate is stalemated. McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) want to prolong the authorities for 5½ years untouched. But libertarian-leaning Republicans and Democrats are threatening to let the authorities expire. Just extending them a few months faces long odds of clearing Congress before the break.
"I'm going to filibuster. I'm going to do everything it takes to block a short-term extension," said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). He and Paul (R-Ky.) have threatened to filibuster any attempt to prolong the bulk collection program. […]
A short-term extension stands an even worse chance in the House, which voted 338-88 to pass its USA Freedom Act, according to the heads of both chambers' Judiciary committees.
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said the House would have "a lot of skepticism" about a clean reauthorization "of any length," and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) had an equally pessimistic prediction. "I think based on the vote yesterday, that would be very [iffy]," he said Thursday.
Even Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) is admitting a problem. "We're divided on it," he said. There's also the little problem that Democratic Leader Harry Reid points out—a federal court decision has already declared the bulk collection of cellphone metadata program McConnell wants to continue illegal. "How can one reauthorize something that’s illegal?" he asked. "This is not a partisan issue … Democrats and Republicans are united in reforming the National Security Agency and how they collect their data."
So the chances are increasing that these parts of the surveillance bill expire at the end of the month. That's the best chance reformers probably actually have to make some serious changes to the law. But that means the real reformers—Sensenbrenner (R-WI) in the House, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Ron Wyden have to stick to their guns and keep their reform-minded caucus together, standing firm. They have to be willing to stand up to the pressure they'll be under to pass something, anything and just watch these parts of the law expire. Then they have to come back recognizing they've got more power to dictate what happens with the law, and to demand that the reforms in last year's stronger and better bills are included in the House-passed bill.
Tell Congress to let bulk collection of our metadata and other PATRIOT Act provisions expire.