Senate votes to renew surveillance powers, delaying changes

By MARY CLARE JALONICK
March 16, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate has voted to extend, rather than tweak, three surveillance powers that federal law enforcement officials use to fight terrorists, passing the bill back to an absent House and throwing the future of the authorities in doubt.

The 75-day extension pushes off the debate over the surveillance tools as Congress attempts to deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. It is not yet clear whether the House will accept the temporary extension of the surveillance powers, which lapsed on Sunday.

The House last week passed a compromise bill negotiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy that would renew the authorities and impose new restrictions. President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed the measure, but longtime skeptics of the surveillance tools in the Senate blocked a quick passage.

The House legislation would update the three expiring surveillance provisions, including one that permits the FBI to obtain court orders to collect business records on subjects in national security investigations. Another, known as the “roving wiretap” provision, permits surveillance on subjects even after they’ve changed phones. The third allows agents to monitor subjects who don’t have ties to international terrorism organizations.

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