Time crunch pushes Senate to edge of surveillance cliff

The mad dash for Memorial Day is on. Capitol Hill is -- again -- barreling toward deadlines on must-pass legislative items, this time on government surveillance powers and federal money for roads and bridges. The Senate, particularly the GOP, finds itself in a bind over surveillance, even as the chamber remains bogged down in a contentious fight over trade that’s scrambling party lines and eating up valuable floor time. Meanwhile, lawmakers are edging closer to a highway funding cliff — though a two-month extension unveiled last week could resolve that tension.

Still, it all makes for a hefty to-do list before lawmakers flee Washington for the weeklong Memorial Day recess at the end of the week. “We got too many deadlines and not enough time,” said Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of Senate Republican leadership. Noting the weeks spent fighting over other measures earlier this year, he added: “Legislative time is hard to get back … but we’ll just have to do what has to be done.”