Failed Senate Votes Mean Gap in NSA Phone Tap Program

The U.S. government is shutting down its surveillance program that collects the telephone records of millions of citizens after the Senate recessed early Saturday morning without renewing its authorization.

Winding down the program at least temporarily, a move that President Barack Obama’s administration has warned will increase the risk of a terrorist attack on the U.S., is necessary after the Senate failed before going a one-week break to reach agreement on a White House-backed bill to extend expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act, an administration official said in an e-mail.