Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, led most of his caucus in blocking the legislation, which fell short of the required 60 votes by a margin of 57-42. A proposed two-month stopgap extension also failed, 54-45. Efforts to enact even shorter extensions were thwarted by Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul, who objected under Senate procedural rules.

'Forefathers aghast'

"This is a debate about whether or not a warrant with a single name of a single company can be used to collect all the records, all of the phone records of all of the people in our country with a single warrant," Paul said during floor debate. "Our forefathers would be aghast."

Provisions of the USA Patriot Act used to justify expansive and sometimes divisive surveillance programs came under scrutiny in 2013, after the data-collection program was unveiled by former government contractor Edward Snowden.

The NSA's collection of phone records of millions of Americans was one of the most contentious domestic spy programs exposed by Snowden. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled earlier this month that the program was unlawful, and many lawmakers support ending it.

Diminishing returns

Four US intelligence and congressional officials, including supporters of renewal of the NSA's authority, said in interviews that communications intercepts have produced diminishing returns in recent years, in part because Snowden's revelations prompted terrorists, drug and human traffickers and foreign governments to alter how they communicate.

Still, all four said they support the renewal because the programs still produce valuable information and force terrorists and criminals to use slower and more awkward means of communicating, such as human couriers, written messages and one- time "burn phones" rather than e-mails or other online messaging.


The White House on Saturday reiterated its support for the USA Freedom Act the Senate rejected, referring to statements administration spokesman Josh Earnest made Friday.

"The way for us to completely eliminate the risk of these critically important national security authorities from lapsing is to pass the USA Freedom Act," which also will protect civil liberties, Earnest said.

'High-threat period'

While McConnell warned against letting security lapse during a "high-threat period," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's spokesman, Adam Jentleson, blamed the impasse on McConnell's "bad habit of governing by manufactured crisis."

"Senator McConnell badly misjudged the members of his own conference and failed to listen to advice from Senator Reid and others who saw this mess coming weeks ago and tried to warn him," Jentleson said in an e-mail Saturday.

Senators pressured to resolve the matter before departing on a break over the US Memorial Day weekend may now reconvene on May 31, the day before the provisions expire.

Bloomberg