In a move championed by privacy advocates, the U.S. Senate failed to muster enough support in a 57-42 vote Friday night to temporarily reauthorize Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act - nor did the legislators move forward with the USA Freedom Act, meant to reform the government's controversial phone record surveillance activities.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is pushing for reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act, "is calling for another attempt to reauthorize Section 215 on Sunday May 31, only hours before the provision is set to expire," the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) noted, urging senators to again reject Section 215 reauthorization.