Congress Scrambles On NSA Surveillance, Trade Authority

05:56

May 21, 2015

View of the U.S. Capitol from the street in Washington, D.C. (Zoe Rudisill/Flickr)

It's down to the wire in Congress on what to do about controversial National Security Agency surveillance programs exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden two years ago.

The Senate has scheduled rare Saturday votes before lawmakers go on Memorial Day recess, on bills to end the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone records and to allow the bulk collection to continue for two months beyond a June 1 deadline.

The Justice Department has warned lawmakers that starting tomorrow, the NSA will wind down collection of those records, which the agency claims is an important tool in the fight against terrorists. The issue has divided Republicans.

Also in the Senate today, Democrats are finding themselves divided on approving President Obama's request for "fast-track" trade agreement.

Guest

Ron Elving, senior Washington editor and correspondent for NPR. He tweets @NPRrelving.

This segment aired on May 21, 2015.

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