NSA reformers rule out short-term deal

Lawmakers behind a surveillance reform bill that sailed through the House are making it clear they won’t accept a short-term deal to accommodate Senate leaders. A bipartisan and bicameral group of lawmakers rejected any potential for a short-term deal to renew controversial National Security Agency programs for just a few weeks or months while GOP leaders in the Senate come up with new legislation.

“The Senate should not delay reform again [in 2015],” Reps Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), John Conyers (D-MI), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Sens Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) said in a joint statement the day after the House overwhelmingly passed the USA Freedom Act. “The USA Freedom Act is a carefully crafted compromise that has the support of the intelligence community, technology industry and privacy groups,” they added. “For this reason, we will not agree to any extension of the NSA’s bulk collection program, which has already been ruled unlawful by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.” That sentiment was echoed by Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). “The House has acted to make sure that the administration has the tools to keep Americans safe,” he told reporters. “It’s time for the Senate to act.”