The US Justice Department is warning lawmakers that the National Security Agency will have to wind down its bulk collection of Americans' phone records by the end of the week if Congress fails to reauthorise the Bush-era Patriot Act.
The department circulated a memo around Congress that says as the June 1 expiration deadline nears, the NSA will have to take this step to ensure that it does not engage in any unauthorised collection.
Congress is sharply divided over the issue.
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The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill last week to renew the post-Sept 11, 2001 law while ending the NSA's bulk collection of millions of Americans' phone records.
Republican leaders in the Senate are pressing to renew the program. Democrats and some Republicans want to end bulk collection.
