Senate Is Sharply Split Over Extension of NSA Phone Data Collection

With the federal government’s bulk collection of phone records set to expire in June, senators remained deeply divided over whether to extend the program temporarily or accept significant changes that the House overwhelmingly approved.

The chamber seemed broken into three camps, with more than half — but not enough to reach a 60-vote threshold — supportive of the House measure that would prohibit the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of metadata charting telephone calls made by Americans.
A far smaller number, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), prefer to extend the program, at least for the short term.
Several other senators — who are vital to passage of the House version of the bill — do not like the House measure, but fear that an extension lacks votes and that the program will expire, which intelligence agents insist will rob them of a crucial tool to monitor potential terrorists. As such, at least a handful of senators who previously said they would not support the House bill were reconsidering.

It was clear that many lawmakers in both chambers preferred that the law lapse, rather than renew it in its current form. Senate Republican leaders “are underestimating the strength of the opposition,” said Senator Chris Coons (D-DE). “I’m not going to vote for an extension of a law that has recently been declared illegal by a federal circuit court.”