A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
Congress has one week before its next break. Republicans control the House and Senate, and they need to resolve a major dispute before the week is up over spy agencies' powers. They also need to figure out how to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which they have not done for more than 70 days. NPR's Eric McDaniel is covering this.
So, Eric, let's start with that fight over surveillance legislation. What's that one about?
ERIC MCDANIEL, BYLINE: Sure. It's kind of a fun one. So Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, it sounds super wonky, but it's a huge spy tool. It expires on the 30th, so in just a couple days. The government collects the calls, texts, emails and so on of nearly 350,000 foreigners located outside of the U.S. each year. Because they're not American, spies don't need a court order or warrant to do it.
Sometimes, though, those folks talk to Americans. And federal law enforcement, when they go and search for Americans' information in this giant spy database thousands of times a year, they don't need a warrant to do it. Republicans are split over whether they should need that. Many Democrats also think they should. But a lot of folks have found themselves on all sides of this issue, too, based on whether or not they trust the president in power.
MART脥NEZ: And what does the president want to see happen?
MCDANIEL: Well, President Trump, he wants to see it re-authorized without changes. He frames it as willing to give up his rights for the sake of the military. He talked about that yesterday on "Fox News Sunday." Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, looks like he's going to try a bill not so different than a moderate reform proposal that failed spectacularly multiple times in the middle of the night the week before last.
When that fails, it really seems like he has just two options. He can add a warrant requirement, which federal law enforcement advocates argue would render the tool near useless, or work on a bipartisan version of the bill that loses warrant folks in both parties, but could attract enough support to pass with a two-thirds majority. But that compromised version could mean more Republican anger with his leadership.
MART脥NEZ: Now let's talk about the other big task for Congress, and that's funding the Department of Homeland Security.
MCDANIEL: Yeah. Like you mentioned, the agency's been shuttered for more than two months. It's the longest shutdown, partial or otherwise, for a government agency ever. The agency's caught in a fight between Republicans and Democrats who want to see change to how immigration enforcement operations are conducted. Republicans, like Utah Senator Mike Lee, made the case that DHS needs to reopen.
He said Secret Service agents who work to protect everyone after the shooting at the White House Correspondents' dinner on Saturday night are technically working for a shuttered agency, though so far they have been receiving paychecks. Those won't last forever, though, without a funding deal. And it's worth remembering here that Democrats forced DHS to close because of violence by federal agents who killed two Americans in Minnesota that led to, you know, ask, like, body-worn cameras for immigration enforcement.
House Republicans have so far rejected a unanimous bipartisan deal out of the Senate that would fund all of DHS but some immigration enforcement teams opting for a slower, one-party approach to fund the whole agency. It's not clear how quickly they can make that happen, though. President Trump has set a June 1 deadline.
MART脥NEZ: All right. Now, given the shooting, I mean, how do you expect the topic of gun violence to factor into Congress' work this week?
MCDANIEL: Yeah, A, it will be interesting to see how Congress talks about this violence, which shapes how lawmakers do their jobs. The Capitol police investigated roughly 14,000 threats against lawmakers last year. In recent years, Democrat Nancy Pelosi's husband was beaten over the head with a hammer by an attacker who broke into their home looking for Speaker Pelosi, and Republican Steve Scalise was nearly killed in an attack with a high-powered rifle.
This threat is something that actively changes the way lawmakers do their work - less willing to take controversial votes, fewer public appearances and occasionally much shorter careers. But this is all just a fraction of the violence endemic to American life. Just as an example, guns are the single leading cause of death for U.S. kids. I think it's really important to think of Saturday's violence at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in that context.
MART脥NEZ: That's NPR's Eric McDaniel. Eric, thanks.
MCDANIEL: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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