McConnell Will Allow Vote On NSA Reform Bill

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday indicated he would allow a vote on the House-passed measure that could effectively end the National Security Agency's bulk collection of Americans' call records, a move that follows weeks of grandstanding against the bill.

"Regardless of what the House's position may be, we have an obligation to deal with the Patriot Act," McConnell told reporters. "We're gonna deal with it this week, and it's my view that letting it expire is not a responsible thing to do.

"So we'll see where the will of the Senate is. We'll find out where the votes are," he added. "I certainly think we ought to allow a vote on the House-passed bill."

The House last week overwhelmingly passed its bill, the USA Freedom Act, which would end the NSA's bulk collection of U.S. call data in favor of a system that allowed intelligence agents to request data from telephone companies on an as-needed basis with judicial approval.

It was not immediately clear if McConnell meant that a vote would occur before the June 1 expiration of the Patriot Act authorities, however, or if he would still attempt to force a short-term "clean" reauthorization through before the Senate is scheduled to leave town at the end of the week. McConnell earlier in the week suggested senators may need to stick around for the weekend if it does not finish business on a trade deal and surveillance reform.

Reflective of the confusion, Sen. Mike Lee, an author of the bicameral Freedom Act, attempted to set aside debate on a trade deal late Tuesday afternoon and instead move the chamber to immediate consideration of the Patriot Act's expiring surveillance authorities. But his efforts were thwarted by fellow Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, a staunch security hawk, who objected to Lee's request for unanimous consent.

During his press conference, McConnell indicated there was still substantial doubt as to whether the reform measure had the 60 votes necessary to advance through the chamber. His top deputy, Majority Whip John Cornyn, also said he wasn't sure the measure would have 60 votes—and would not commit to voting for it.

"What makes sense is we give senators a vote on the House bill, and if that fails, and a version of it did fail last fall, then the alternative would be a short extension and we work out the differences," Cornyn told reporters.

Last week, McConnell initiated so-called "fast-track" procedure to allow the USA Freedom and a two-month extension of the expiring Patriot Act provisions to go immediately onto the floor. Until now, it has been unclear if he would actually allow the reform measure to earn a vote.

But it remains unclear what path forward the Senate will take, especially given filibuster threats from Sens. Ron Wyden and Rand Paul, who is running for president and has denounced the Freedom Act for not doing enough for reform.

McConnell and a number of his fellow Republican defense hawks still favor a straight reauthorization of the Patriot Act's three spy provisions due to sunset on June 1, including Section 215, which the NSA uses to justify its mass surveillance of U.S. phone metadata. That once-secret program was exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden two years ago.

Most Democrats are expected to vote in support of the Freedom Act, a version of which earned 58 votes in the upper chamber last November. At the time Sen. Bill Nelson cast the lone Democratic "no" vote, while McConnell whipped his Republican caucus against the measure.

"If it's the same, I'll vote against it," Nelson said Tuesday. "But I don't know that that's the situation ... I've got to see what the differences are."

Asked if he would support a clean Patriot Act extension, Nelson said: "Probably so."

Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, suggested confidence that the Freedom Act could pass on the floor, and criticized McConnell for bringing the debate so close to the expiration deadline.

"Leader McConnell is alone on an island, staunchly holding on to a 5-year extension that has no chance of becoming the law," Schumer said. "Now today, he indicated he would consider putting USA Freedom Act up for a vote this week. That's what we've been asking for for months. Sen. McConnell, this is a life boat. You're alone on this island. Take the boat, get off the island. Let us vote."

McConnell's presser came following Senate lunches, during which former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who served under George W. Bush, briefed Republicans on the importance of the surveillance authorities. While defending the NSA's phone-records dragnet, Mukasey did say a recent federal appeals court deeming the program illegal could complicate McConnell's efforts to renew the Patriot Act without changes, given the legal uncertainty that could result, according to two senators present.

"He did recommend some acknowledgment of the decision so that it is addressed in the legislation," Sen. John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican, said.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

Brendan Sasso and Alex Rogers contributed to this article.