Crunch Time for Government Spying – The American Prospect

Time is running out for a bipartisan legislative push to curtail warrantless surveillance of American citizens through Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

After a vote was tabled last week following a theatrical warning by House Intelligence Committee chair Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) about a national-security threat from Russia, reformers are pressuring House leadership to hold another vote on a compromise bill, plus amendments. The chances of that are growing more grim by the day.

Once Congress returns to session next week, it will be pushing up against a government funding deadline that appears increasingly likely to turn into a full government shutdown. That will likely eclipse any momentum behind a compromise reform of Section 702, and could lead to a situation where a clean reauthorization gets tucked into future must-pass legislation, a common tactic employed by national-security hawks.

There s another scenario where Congress fails to reauthorize Section 702 by the April deadline and allows it to sunset, which could invert the political dynamic and increase pressure to agree to a floor vote.

via prospect.org