Rep Hoyer warns NSA bill could sink

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) warned that Senate changes to legislation reining in the National Security Agency's surveillance powers would likely sink the bill in the House. The Senate voted to advance a House-passed proposal that reauthorizes certain post-9/11 spying powers while ending the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of phone records. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is urging a series of amendments to the bill, which if approved would require another vote in the lower chamber.

Top lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee -- including Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Ranking Member John Conyers Jr. (D-MI) and Reps Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) -- warned that the House "is not likely to accept" Majority Leader McConnell's changes. Rep Hoyer predicted the same outcome. "There could be an amendment that is relatively noncontroversial. We'll see. But none of the amendments that I've heard talked about are noncontroversial," Rep Hoyer said. "Clearly, what the four most-involved members on the Judiciary Committee have said is that if the amendments that are being discussed … if those are adopted, they do not believe they would be acceptable by the House. "I agree with their proposition."