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 By a vote of 54-45, the Senate failed to reach the 60-vote
threshold needed to advance a bill that would have extended for two
months provisions of the "USA Patriot Act" that allow the collection
of vast amounts of telephone "metadata".
The data collection program, in which the National Security Agency
sweeps up vast amounts of Americans' telephone records and business
information, was exposed two years ago by former NSA contractor
Edward Snowden, who is now a fugitive in Russia.
The vote against the extension came after the Senate narrowly
blocked the "USA Freedom Act," a bill that would end the bulk
telephone data collection and replace it with a more targeted
program.
That vote was 57-42, just short of the 60 needed.
President Barack Obama's administration had pushed hard for the
Freedom Act. The House of Representatives backed it by an
overwhelming margin, with strong support from Republicans and
Democrats, on May 13.
 Backers of the bill in the House, including Representative Bob
Goodlatte, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the
Senate's failure to act risked the Patriot Act provisions'
expiration before the House returns to Washington late on June 1.
"The Senate has failed to make the important reforms necessary,
jeopardizing Americans’ civil liberties and our national security,"
they said in a statement.
The Senate's Republican Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, proposed
short extensions, ending with one lasting only until June 2, to keep
the Patriot Act provisions from expiring. But they were blocked, by
Republican Senator Rand Paul and Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich.
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The Patriot Act was passed to increase national security in the wake
of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Backers of the Freedom Act argued
that it provided national security protections while eliminating
provisions of the Patriot Act that raised privacy concerns.
Paul, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate and vocal advocate
for privacy rights, led more than 10 hours of speeches against the
Patriot Act on Wednesday.
After failing to get an extension, McConnell said the Senate would
return to Washington on Sunday, May 31, one day before the scheduled
end of its Memorial Day holiday recess, to consider ways to address
the imminent expiration of the Patriot Act provisions.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Mark Potter)
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