WASHINGTON — Two Senate Republicans are warning they’ll oppose a government spending bill if the measure includes a permanent or long-term extension of a foreign intelligence collection program set to expire at the end of the month.
Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee say revisions need to be made to the contentious program to ensure the civil liberties of American citizens are properly protected. They’re in favour of only a temporary extension, which they define as a matter of weeks.
The program is known as section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Paul of Kentucky says “absolutely I would vote against any spending bill that has permanent reauthorization” of Section 702.
Lee says he’d be unwilling to vote for a spending bill that continued the program for a year or longer.