02 Jun 15. NSA powers expire as US rolls back surveillance. The US Senate packed up on Sunday evening without extending the expiring surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act, meaning that—for now, at least—the U.S. intelligence community is without tools that it says are vital to national security, including the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of U.S. call data. Thanks to the stubborn opposition of Sen. Rand Paul and a gamble with the clock by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that sorely backfired, the Senate failed to deal with the three controversial parts of the post-9/11 act that reached sunset the moment the calendar turned to June. The lapse appears likely to only last a few days, as lawmakers are expected to pass a White House-supported surveillance-reform bill—the USA Freedom Act—as soon as Tuesday that would revive the spying authorities, but with a host of transparency and oversight reforms tacked on. Sweeping intelligence capabilities exposed by Edward Snowden shut down as hawks concede defeat on first major surveillance reform in a generation
Sweeping US surveillance powers, enjoyed by the National Security Agency since the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks, shut down at midnight after a dramatic Senate showdown in which even the NSA’s biggest supporters conceded that substantial reforms were inevitable.
Almost two years after the whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed to the Guardian that the Patriot Act was secretly being used to justify the collection of phone records from millions of Americans, critics of bulk surveillance went further than expected and forced the end of a range of other legal authorities covered by the Bush-era Patriot Act as well.
The expired provisions, subject to a “sunset” clause from the beginning of June onwards, are likely to be replaced later this week with new legislation – the USA Freedom Act – that permanently bans the NSA from collecting telephone records in bulk and introduces new transparency rules for other surveillance activities. The USA Freedom Act, once passed, will be the first rollback of NSA surveillance since the seminal 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
But until then, in addition to the expiration of the NSA’s phone records collection, the FBI is prevented from using powers granted under the Patriot Act, including the pursuit of so-called “business records” relating to internet use, hotel and rental car records and credit card statements.
Both developments represent a remarkable capitulation for the Republican Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, who had initially sought to simply extend the Patriot Act provisions, despite overwhelming support in the House of Representatives for the USA Freedom Act. McConnell and his colleagues who opposed reform were thwarted in their efforts by a growing backlash by Senate Republicans and, in particular, his Kentucky colleague, Senator Rand Paul.
“This is the only realistic way forward,” acknowledged the Republican leader during a rare Sunday evening session just hours before the Patriot Act was set to expire. Shortly after, the Senate voted 77 to 17 to proceed to debate on the USA Freedom Act – a procedural hurdle that fell three votes short during another special session focused on surveillance reform nine days earlier.
The development was welcomed by the White House, which has also come to support the USA Freedom Act after Barack Obama proposed that the NSA could seek specific records directly from telephone companies instead.
“The Senate took an important – if late – step forward tonight,” White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, said. “We call on the Senate to ensure this irresponsible lapse in authorities is as short-lived as possible.”
Even Paul, after the procedural vote, conceded that the bill will now ultimately pass, although he appeared determined to drag it out as a long as possible. “Tonight begins the process of ending bulk collection,” he said. Paul, who is running fo