As the deadline looms for Congress to settle debate over whether and how to extend a controversial surveillance bill, Republicans are admitting that the issue is a “train wreck” they don’t know how to solve. As a result, they not only face what Politico calls a “never-ending” crisis, but risk derailing their agenda in other realms.
For months, Congress has been attempting to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which allows the government to monitor the communications of foreign targets without a warrant. As a side effect, however, data can be collected on Americans, providing the government with a backdoor means of surveilling citizens. Those in Congress concerned about privacy — including many Republicans — have been firmly opposed to this, which has resulted in a number of temporary extensions on the bill, but no final passage. Because of this, FISA debates have split the GOP and distracted it from other matters.
House Republicans say they’re nearly in agreement as to a multi-year extension, others are not so sure that they’ll make the April 30 deadline. After days and nights of negotiations failed last week, Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN) walked off the floor in the pre-dawn hours Friday morning and had a blunt description of the situation, calling it “a train wreck.”
So doubtful is the outcome of debate in the House that Senate Republicans are beginning to say they may need to take over.
“We’ve just got to have optionality here,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune. “I don’t know what the House is going to be able to do, and so we’ll be preparing accordingly.”
While some congressional Republicans have suggested that an agreement is near, others have made it clear that they will refuse to support the proposed five-year extension, warrantless surveillance and lack of protection against the implementation of a digital currency — all red-line proposals for ultraconservatives. The ban on a central digital currency in particular has emerged as a sticking point, as it is opposed by both the White House and many Democrats. And as Representative Don Bacon (R-NE) noted, because of the lack of unanimous support among the GOP, the yes votes will have to “make a deal with the Democrats” if they want to move forward.
At the same time, the situation is further complicated for the Republicans as President Donald Trump has demanded they pass a reconciliation bill to reopen DHS by June 1. If Congress fails to pass a FISA extension fast enough, the two policy fights could collide and further derail one another.
In the meantime, however, debate continues with little sign of resolution.
Said one House Republican speaking anonymously, “I don’t know how we solve it.”
