Senators Agree to Short-Term Renewal of Surveillance Authority

(Bloomberg) -- The Senate Monday approved a stopgap bill restoring expired surveillance authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for 77 days.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the chamber approved the temporary extension on a voice vote, giving time to debate objections to the law without letting the authority for U.S. intelligence agencies to monitor communication of suspected terrorists lapse for an extended period.

The provisions of the act expired March 15. The House would still have to vote on the short-term extension.

Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky opposed the extension, but Lee said Monday they will get a chance to eventually vote on their amendments to the measure.

The short-term fix comes as Congress is set to take up a House bill intended as a response to the economic fallout from spreading the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.

To contact the reporters on this story: Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net;Steven T. Dennis in Washington at sdennis17@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Anna Edgerton

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