Security News > 2020 > March > House Strikes Deal to Extend Surveillance Powers
House lawmakers prepared to extend surveillance authorities that expire this month, releasing legislation that represents a rare bipartisan agreement after members of both parties said they wanted to ensure the tools preserved civil liberties.
House Democrats posted the text of a bill online, readying the legislation for a floor vote Wednesday before lawmakers leave Washington at the end of the week.
The bill was the product of bipartisan negotiations between Democrats and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, according to an aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and one other person familiar with the talks.
Trump, citing surveillance errors from the Russia probe, told Republicans last week that he wouldn't sign a bill unless it incorporated reforms.
The FBI calls the provisions vital in the fight against terrorism and stresses that none is tied to surveillance problems identified by the Justice Department watchdog during its investigation into the Russia probe.