Obama urges Senate to renew NSA spying program

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday urged the Senate to renew the legislation on National Security Agency's (NSA) phone surveillance plans.

A "handful of senators" are the only thing standing in the way of an extension of key Patriot Act provisions before they expire at midnight Sunday, Obama told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

He has told Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell and other senators that he expects them to take action "swiftly" on a bill passed by the House of Representatives which would renew certain powers and reform the program.

Mitch McConnell is calling the Senate back into session on Sunday, just hours before the midnight deadline.

The Senate on Saturday rejected a bill named the USA Freedom Act which aimed at addressing the country's National Security Agency's bulk collection of telephone data. Meanwhile, another bill, which would have extended the program for two months was also blocked.

The disarray in Congress appeared to significantly increase the chances that the government will lose systematic access to newly created calling records by Americans, at least temporarily, after June 1.

The debate over the federal program became intense after the government's extensive surveillance efforts were exposed by Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruling found the NSA's bulk collection of phone records was not authorized by Congress and was illegal. Endite