Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing the Senate to complete work on three controversial bills dealing with domestic surveillance, trade and highway funding in just a few short days, and is threatening to take away senators’ Memorial Day break in an effort to muffle their objections.
Any one of these bills alone might take the Senate a week or more to pass, given the controversy surrounding them. But the Kentucky Republican is hoping the pending expiration of both the surveillance authorities under the PATRIOT Act, and contracting authority for highway and transit projects, will force senators to quickly pass these measures at a breakneck speed.
On top of that, McConnell is vowing to also finish work this week on legislation granting President Obama “fast track” authority, which would give Obama the power to negotiate trade agreements that can’t be amended by Congress.
The trade bill doesn’t have to be done this week, which means McConnell’s demand that it be completed in the next few days will test his leadership ability. But McConnell sought to turn that around on his 99 colleagues, by testing their willingness to work into the Memorial Day weekend.
“The Senate will finish its work on trade this week, and we will remain in session as long as it takes to do so,” McConnell said Monday on the Senate floor. McConnell added that lawmakers should postpone booking flights ahead of the impending Memorial Day recess.
“Senators should know that I’m quite serious,” he said. “I would advise against making any sort of travel arrangements until the path forward becomes clear.”
Despite his push on trade, the most immediate issues facing the Senate are bills dealing with domestic surveillance and highway spending. Last week, the House easily passed legislation that reauthorizes parts of the PATRIOT Act, but importantly, eliminates the ability of the National Security Agency to collect bulk phone data on Americans.
Dozens of members of both parties supported this change, almost two years since Edward Snowden revealed the surveillance program that was quickly condemned by members of both parties.
McConnell’s challenge on this bill is to convince the Senate to reject the House version, and instead pass a 60-day extension of current authorities. But with so many members opposed to the current situation, that will likely prove an uphill climb.
The NSA’s current authority to collect bulk data and conduct other kinds of surveillance expires on June 1, which means the Senate needs to figure out its position by either this week, or sometime next week, when it is scheduled to be in recess.
The highway bill is also somewhat controversial, as it would only extend contracting authority for another two months. Democrats have railed against this proposal as a short-term fix that will create more uncertainty for projects around the country, and thus hurt job creation.
Earlier in the day, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the two-month fix isn’t good enough, and said under Republican leadership, “America is one big pothole.”
That said, Democrats seemingly have little choice but to support the bill, and the extension already has some support from key Democrats. Highway authority also expires at the end of May, and the House is expected to pass its own two-month extension on Tuesday.
Given the tight deadlines on the PATRIOT Act and highway programs, McConnell’s demand to address trade is a major kink that is threatening to disrupt the week. The biggest hurdle is coming from Democrats, who oppose giving Obama fast-track authority without major changes they say are needed to protect U.S. workers who lose their jobs due to international trade.
For example, Republicans in favor of passing the trade deal fended off an amendment Monday night that they believe would have sunk the bill.
Sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, the amendment would have increased funding for retraining workers impacted by the trade deal from $450 million to $575 million, the same level Obama included in his fiscal 2016 budget.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a sponsor of the trade bill, said Brown’s amendment would make it more difficult to pass a provision providing worker assistance, which would threaten the meager Democratic support for the bill.
Senators have begun lining up amendments, but McConnell hasn’t decided which ones will make it to the floor for a vote. And Democrats are threatening to hold McConnell to his promise of allowing plenty of amendment votes, something that could also drag the process out further.
An aide to Reid pointed out in an email Monday night that McConnell has promised an “open” and “robust” amendment process.
Among the most problematic amendment ideas is one from Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, the former U.S. Trade Representative under President George W. Bush.
Portman’s provision would identify countries who manipulate currency, a practice that supporters of the language say hurts the U.S. economy and jobs. Republicans in favor of the trade bill warn that passage of Portman’s amendment could kill the legislation because it could thwart future trade deals, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership now under negotiation with 11 Pacific rim nations.
