Washington:
The threat of Islamic State to the national security of the United States has heightened in the last two weeks, making it critical for Congress to renew surveillance authority, a senior U.S. administration official said on Wednesday.
The law authorizing the U.S. government to conduct domestic surveillance searches through a court approval process is due to expire if Congress does not pass an extension by Sunday.
The Senate so far has been unable to pass legislation despite overwhelming support in the House of Representatives for a bill that amends the current programme with much more limited powers to collect information.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called for the Senate to meet at 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) on Sunday, but it is not clear whether there will be enough support to pass any legislation before the law's expiration.
Another U.S. administration official said it will take time for the government to instruct phone companies to shut down or reboot data storage capabilities.
The federal government will begin instructing phone companies on how to stop collecting data by 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) on Sunday and the instructions would be irreversible by 8 p.m. EDT (2400 GMT). If a lapse occurs, it is expected to take 24 hours after the passage of new surveillance powers by Congress for the programme to resume, the official said.
The law authorizing the U.S. government to conduct domestic surveillance searches through a court approval process is due to expire if Congress does not pass an extension by Sunday.
The Senate so far has been unable to pass legislation despite overwhelming support in the House of Representatives for a bill that amends the current programme with much more limited powers to collect information.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called for the Senate to meet at 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) on Sunday, but it is not clear whether there will be enough support to pass any legislation before the law's expiration.
Another U.S. administration official said it will take time for the government to instruct phone companies to shut down or reboot data storage capabilities.
The federal government will begin instructing phone companies on how to stop collecting data by 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) on Sunday and the instructions would be irreversible by 8 p.m. EDT (2400 GMT). If a lapse occurs, it is expected to take 24 hours after the passage of new surveillance powers by Congress for the programme to resume, the official said.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
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