Sen McConnell might not be bluffing on the NSA

[Commentary] Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has proposed several changes to a House bill that would reform the National Security Agency, curtailing its authority to spy on Americans' phone calls, and the Senate will likely vote on Majority Leader McConnell's amendments as well as the legislation itself on June 2nd. Why doesn't Majority Leader McConnell back down and accept the compromise worked out in the House, instead of proposing amendments that could prevent that authority from being renewed? There are a few possibilities.

He might not expect his proposed amendments to pass, but rather is introducing them as a procedural maneuver to control the direction of debate in the Senate and prevent libertarians such as Sen Rand Paul (R-KY) from proposing changes that would even further limit the government's spying powers. On the other hand, maybe he thinks the amendments will pass and that his colleagues in the House will have a change of heart. Some argue that if the House rejects an amended Senate bill and the license is not renewed, then other provisions of existing law will leave the government with more authority than if Congress passes the House bill, renewing the license while instituting broader reforms.