White House: No plan B if NSA deadline passes

The Obama Administration will end the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records if Congress is unable to reauthorize an expiring provision, the White House confirmed.

“If Section 215 sunsets, we will not continue the bulk telephony metadata program,” National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said. While top-ranking officials at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had previously said that there would be no backup plan in the event of congressional inaction, the new statement is the first time the White House has made clear that the program will wholly end if lawmakers fail to move forward. The statement also clarifies that the Administration will not seek to pursue a legal loophole to continue the phone records collection. “In addition, allowing Section 215 to sunset would result in the loss, going forward, of a critical national security tool that is used in a variety of additional contexts that do not involve the collection of bulk data,” Price said. “That is why we have underscored the imperative of congressional action in the coming weeks, and we welcome the opportunity to work with lawmakers on such legislation.”