Congress Grapples With Long-Term Solution for Phone Records Program

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is “OK” with permanently reauthorizing USA Patriot Act Section 215, except one provision: the call detail records program (see 1911120042), he told us. President Donald Trump signed a short-term funding bill through Dec. 20 on Nov. 21, extending the law through March 15, three months after the original December expiration.

Republicans in interviews said they would like a longer-term reauthorization for the surveillance program, despite the intelligence community saying some provisions, including the call detail records (CDR) program, are dormant. Key Democrats in interviews voiced support for the 90-day extension, saying Congress is working on a longer-term solution.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., said he supports reauthorization “much longer than 90 days,” even for the CDR program, but not permanent reauthorization. “There are very few things I want to see that are permanent, but I have a much longer time frame in mind than 90 days.”

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., skeptical of the CDR program’s intelligence value, supported a temporary extension “so we have time to fix it.” She said she wasn’t persuaded by NSA’s recent argument that it needs the authority in case it could be useful in the future. She hasn’t seen any evidence of intelligence value, but she’s working with senators to see if Congress can come up with “some rational reform.”

Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., said, “We’re still working through a longer-term solution.” Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said senators discussed details in a classified briefing last week on the program. “I’m going to look at the language” and consider long-term implications, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told reporters.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, appeared to backtrack from comments made after a recent Judiciary Committee hearing, in which he sided with Graham in questioning the need to reauthorize the CDR program. Asked about long-term reauthorization, including CDR, Cornyn said, “Sure, I think we should do it permanently.” Cornyn previously told us it’s hard to justify a program the intelligence community doesn’t currently have a need for (see 1911060045). “I don’t know why we keep going through this exercise when these are standard law enforcement tools,” he said last week. “Actually, we give our anti-terrorism front line less tools than we do ordinary criminal cases, so I’m OK" with long-term reauthorization.

“It’s got some problems,” another Senate Republican said last week when asked about the CDR program. “We need to let it lapse, or we need to amend it. I’m not sure what’s going to happen.” Not letting it lapse just so officials have it in case they want it “represents the very worst kind of lawmaking,” the lawmaker said.

The continuing resolution passed the House 231-192 and 74-20 in the Senate. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., voted against, voicing opposition to the Patriot Act: “As a Muslim growing up post-9/11, I clearly understand the problems in it, and we are looking and hoping to reform it, so until that happens, I will not be on record voting for it.”

“My sense is that [the CDR program] hasn’t worked very well, and they’re going to do away with it,” Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said. “If it’s being suspended because it’s not producing anything, I need to take a look at it.”