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- ABC News
- May 29, 2015
NSA Domestic Spying Program May Expire: What to Know
Provisions could expire by June 1.
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WAIT, THERE’S A WRESTLING MATCH IN THE SENATE SUNDAY?
No – but the fate of the program NSA’s domestic surveillance program could be determined on Sunday.
Here’s where things stand: While the Republican controlled House passed the USA Freedom Act earlier this month, it faced opposition as soon as it arrived in the Senate, especially as the upper chamber’s top Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, pushed his colleagues for a blank extension of the surveillance program.
With Memorial Day recess looming, the Senate voted on the USA Freedom Act in the early morning hours last Saturday, but fell three votes short of clearing a key procedural hurdle. Shortly after some political theatrics on the Senate floor, the upper chamber voted to block a two month extension of the Patriot Act to give lawmakers time to hammer out a compromise.
The Senate then adjourned for the week and senators are slated to return at 4:00 p.m. Sunday, with only eight hours left until the program expires.
SO THE PROGRAM MAY END AT MIDNIGHT ON JUNE 1?
Actually, the process to end the program starts much earlier than midnight, according to senior administration officials The NSA will begin shutting down the surveillance system at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday if Congress has not passed legislation by then.
The NSA then has until 8:00 p.m. to cancel the shutdown. At that point, it is irreversible. Once the database is shut down, it would take an entire day to restart the system. No additional metadata could be collected while the system is down nor would law enforcement officials be able to search the database.
Lawmakers are in negotiations to find an agreement before the Senate returns on Sunday, but unless the Senate passes legislation by 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, the surveillance program is expected to go dark for at least a few days, which President Obama has warned lawmakers about.
“The House of Representatives did its work which strikes the appropriate balance,” Obama said this week. “The Senate did not act...I strongly urge the Senate to work through this recess and make sure that they identify a way to get this done.”
“This needs to get done,” he added.
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