FBI SURVEILLANCE POWERS

Senators are expected to vote next week on House-passed legislation to extend the FBI’s surveillance powers, setting up a battle between civil libertarians who want to curtail the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and allies of the intelligence community and law enforcement.

The legislation will extend core surveillance powers of the lapsed USA Freedom Act: the power to collect business records relevant to a counterterrorism or counter espionage investigation; the authority to use roving wiretaps to track suspects; and the ability to surveil “lone wolf” suspects not connected to a known terrorist group or foreign power.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has told colleagues he plans to bring the House-passed bill to the floor next week and allow votes on three or four amendments, according to GOP lawmakers.

The amendments are expected to fail and the House bill is expected to advance to President Trump’s desk, although lawmakers caution there could be unexpected drama on the floor.

Senators will vote on three amendments to the House bill, which itself is a bipartisan reform compromise that would end the National Security Agency’s collection of bulk phone data and ban the collection of GPS and cellphone location data without warrants.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) will get a vote on his amendment barring the FISA court from issuing warrants for American citizens and instead requiring law enforcement agencies such as the FBI to obtain a warrant from a normal court established under Article III of the Constitution.