The Wall Street Journal - 13.03.2020

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Friday, March 13, 2020 |A

U.S. NEWS

WASHINGTON—A set of do-
mestic spying tools appeared
likely to expire in three days af-
ter the Senate failed to approve
legislation that would have re-
newed them amid doubts from
President Trump that lawmak-
ers had done enough to over-
haul a surveillance system he
has condemned.
Two Republicans on Thurs-
day broke into an open and at
times heated disagreement
over the issue on the Senate
floor, in a rare display of GOP
splintering.
Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah), a
civil-liberties advocate, sought
to renew for 45 days the ex-
piring authorities in a bid to
buy more time to negotiate
broader privacy changes. Mr.
Trump had expressed doubts
about a compromise package
approved by the House a day
earlier that offered some pri-
vacy changes to the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.),
chairman of the Senate Intelli-
gence Committee, objected to
Mr. Lee’s request for unani-
mous consent, meaning the
surveillance powers at issue
will probably end on March 15.
“I am not going to have a
45-day extension,” said Mr.
Burr, who argued that the
House bill was a carefully con-
structed package that passed

with large bipartisan support
in the lower chamber and con-
tained sufficient privacy safe-
guards. “I’ll let us go dark.”
Mr. Lee said he wanted the
extension to allow for time to
hold votes on amendments to
increase transparency and
oversight of the FISA process.
Mr. Burr said the expiration
wouldn’t affect national secu-
rity because the president can
use executive authority to
keep the programs running.
Mr. Trump exerted last-min-
ute influence on the process
Thursday, saying he had been
asked by senators to veto the
House-passed bill. “Many Re-
publican Senators want me to
Veto the FISA Bill until we find
out what led to, and happened
with, the illegal attempted
‘coup’ of the duly elected Pres-
ident of the United States, and
others!” he wrote on Twitter.
Mr. Lee spoke to Mr. Trump
shortly before the Senate floor
vote and told colleagues that
the president didn’t support the
House measure, according to
people familiar with the matter.
Asked about Mr. Lee’s com-
ments, a White House official
pointed to Mr. Trump’s tweet
and declined to characterize the
president’s position on the bill.
Republican and Democratic
leaders have sought for a few
weeks to cobble together
enough support for a bill that
renewed the lapsing provisions
while granting enough privacy-
minded changes to FISA to ap-
pease surveillance critics in
both parties—as well as Mr.
Trump. The president has said
he believed the law was used
to improperly target his 2016
presidential campaign.
Earlier Thursday, Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McCon-
nell (R., Ky.) indicated the Sen-
ate would seek to pass the leg-
islation that cleared the
House, but warned that it may
not be able to hold a vote be-
fore the surveillance powers
expired. Without the unani-
mous agreement of senators,
time must be allotted for de-
bate and procedural votes.
“It’s not a question of if
this passes but when,” Mr.
McConnell said. “I hope none
of our colleagues choose to
force these important national
security tools to temporarily
lapse for the sake of making a
political point, which will not
change the outcome.”
Mr. McConnell said Thurs-
day the Senate would delay its
scheduled recess next week to
work on legislation to combat
the growing coronavirus epi-
demic, meaning lawmakers
could potentially address the
lapsed spying tools soon.

BYDUSTINVOLZ
ANDSIOBHANHUGHES

Domestic

Spying

Tools Set

To Expire

The Senate failed to

act amid a fight over

surveillance powers

and privacy.

front-runner and center of at-

tention at the last Democratic

debate in Charleston, S.C., in

February—acknowledged in his

remarks Wednesday that his

circumstances have changed.

“Today, I say to the Demo-

cratic establishment: In order

to win in the future, you need

to win the voters who repre-

sent the future of our coun-

try,” Mr. Sanders said. “And

you must speak to the issues

of concern to them.”

Repeatedly calling Mr. Bi-

den “my friend Joe,” he went

on to list issues he said were

important to his ardent sup-

porters, including climate

change, student debt and in-

come inequality. His aides

confirmed they view the de-

bate as an opportunity to

push his agenda.

“Bernie knows his base bet-

ter than anybody,” said Re-

becca Katz, a Democratic

strategist who backed Mr.

Sanders in 2016.

“They aren’t just going to

line up behind Biden. What he

did was tell Biden exactly how

to win his supporters. It was a

hell of a cheat sheet,” she

said.

Mr. Biden, meanwhile, will

stay focused on President

Trump, while making the case

that he can make “real, lasting

progressive change in this coun-

try and in people’s lives,” ac-

cording to a campaign spokes-

person.

Allies of both candidates said

they expected the duo to be

more critical of President

Trump than of each other.

The matchup will be the

first this election cycle with-

out any female candidates, af-

ter all of the women in the

race dropped out except Rep.

Tulsi Gabbard, who didn’t

qualify for the debate.

The one-on-one matchup

could also give Mr. Biden

more preparation to face Mr.

Trump in general-election de-

bates, if he ends up securing

the Democratic nomination.

“A Bernie versus Biden de-

bate needs to happen,” said

Adam Green, co-founder of

the liberal group Progressive

Change Campaign Committee,

which backed Massachusetts

Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “Biden

has to withstand one-on-one

scrutiny similar to a debate

with Trump.”

Joe Biden’s field-narrowing

romp in a string of primaries,

along with the Democratic Na-

tional Committee’s decision to

pull the live audience over cor-

onavirus concerns, means Sun-

day’s debate in Washington,

D.C., could be a quieter affair

than the 10 that preceded it.

Still, Bernie Sanders, in a

blunt assessment of his im-

probable path to the Demo-

cratic nomination Wednesday,

made plain that he wouldn’t

clear the way for Mr. Biden.

He offered a preview of the

2020 cycle’s first one-on-one

debate between the pair and

pledged to press the former

vice president on a range of

liberal policy issues.

The scaled-down, televised

event comes after Mr. Biden

dominated a series of nomi-

nating contests over the past

two weeks, opening up a wide

delegate lead that will be hard

for Mr. Sanders to close. The

race moves next week to an-

other group of states that are

mostly friendly to Mr. Biden.

Mr. Sanders—who was the

BYTARINIPARTI

ANDJOSHUAJAMERSON

Biden, Sanders Set to Debate

Amid Dramatic Shift in Race

Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden’s 11th debate Sunday will be the race’s first one-on-one matchup.

JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS

in home sales in the next

month, compared with the pe-

riod before the coronavirus be-

came prominent. In a survey of

its members about the virus,

the association said 11% of re-

spondents reported lower

home-buyer traffic and 7% re-

ported lower home-seller traf-

fic.

The spring months are cru-

cial for home sales, as buyers

look to move into new homes

before the start of the school

year. About 40% of annual

sales take place from March

through June, according to

NAR.

Some agents say the virus is

causing clients to avoid public

gatherings, including open

houses.

David Kong, an agent at

real-estate brokerage Keller

Williams NYC, got a call last

week from a client asking to

cancel her open house. The cli-

ent, Jodi Freed, a party planner

from Queens, N.Y., said she was

concerned about having strang-

ers in the home where she and

her family still live, because

her teenage children have

health conditions.

“It’s pretty much put our life

on hold,” she said. “If I can’t

sell the house, I can’t move.”

Real-estate brokerage Redfin

Corp. said last week that a

handful of buyers had sus-

pended their home searches

due to the virus, while three

sellers in Seattle canceled list-

ings. Redfin has encouraged

home shoppers to use video

chat to tour homes virtually.

The biggest problem in the

housing market is a shortage of

homes for sale, “and the coro-

navirus I think will exacerbate

that, because it’s the sellers

who are hesitant to put their

homes on the market,” said

Redfin Chief Executive Glenn

Kelman.

The U.S. housing inventory

in January was at the lowest

level for that month since

1999, according to NAR. The

U.S. had 3.1 months of supply

of homes on the market at the

end of January, down from 3.

months a year earlier.

In February, the number of

homes for sale fell by more

than 20% in half of the na-

tion’s 50 biggest metro areas

compared with a year earlier,

according to Realtor.com.

(News Corp, parent of The

Wall Street Journal, operates

Realtor.com.)

The average rate on a 30-

year fixed-rate mortgage fell

to 3.29% last week, the lowest

level on record, said mort-

gage-finance giant Freddie

Mac. Mortgages rates are

closely linked to yields on the

10-year Treasury, which hit a

record low Monday.

Low mortgage rates have

led to a boom in refinancing,

and they typically increase

home sales too. A 3.3% rate on

a $300,000 loan would create a

monthly payment of $1,314, ac-

cording to LendingTree Inc., an

online loan information site. At

4%, the monthly payment

would be $1,432. (Both figures

exclude taxes and insurance.)

King County, Wash., which

includes Seattle, has con-

firmed more than 100 Covid-

cases, and some schools have

closed. But the housing mar-

ket hasn’t slowed, said Matt

van Winkle, chief executive of

Re/Max Northwest.

“We’re still seeing proper-

ties sell in the first day or two

when they come on the mar-

ket,”hesaid.

—Will Parker

contributed to this article.

The lowest mortgage rates

on record are colliding with the

prospect of an economic down-

turn prompted by the coronavi-

rus pandemic, setting the stage

for an unpredictable spring

selling season in the housing

market.

Early indications suggest

rock-bottom borrowing costs

may not be enough to lure

many home buyers amid the

current uncertainty. Econo-

mists are tamping down earlier

expectations that cheap rates

and a strong job market would

boost the housing market in

2020 following years of slug-

gish growth.

The National Association of

Realtors had anticipated about

5.5 million sales of previously

owned homes in 2020, up from

5.3 million a year in 2019 and

2018, said NAR chief economist

Lawrence Yun.

“I thought that there would

be a steady increase from Jan-

uary pretty much throughout

most of the year,” Mr. Yun said.

“Obviously, we hit a major

speed bump” because of the

new coronavirus.

The association said Mon-

day that it expected a 10% drop

BYNICOLEFRIEDMAN

Home Sales Face New Uncertainty

Earlier predictions that historically low mortgage rates would help fuel a strong spring selling season in the housing market are looking shaky as coronavirus fears set in.

RICK BOWMER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Averagerateon30-yearfixed

mortgage

Sources: Freddie Mac (rates); National Association of Realtors (sales)

*Seasonally adjusted

5.

3.

3.

4.

4.

%

2017 ’18 ’19 ’

10.

–10.

–5.

0

5.

%

2017 ’18 ’19 ’

U.S.existing-homesales,

changefromayearearlier*

“If this technology is nor-

malized at the airport, it’s only

a matter of time before the

government cites its use at air-

ports as a basis for deploying it

elsewhere,” said ACLU staff at-

torney Ashley Gorski in a blog

post Thursday.

“That we even need to go to

court to pry out this informa-

tion further demonstrates why

lawmakers urgently need to

halt law- and immigration-en-

forcement use of this technol-

ogy,” he said.

The lawsuit also seeks re-

cords from U.S. Customs and

Border Protection, the Trans-

portation Security Administra-

tion, and U.S. Immigration and

Customs Enforcement. The

ACLU has another lawsuit

pending that seeks facial rec-

ognition records from the Jus-

tice Department, the Federal

Bureau of Investigation, and

the Drug Enforcement Admin-

istration.

Seven U.S. municipalities

last year banned facial-recogni-

tion use by the government,

and more are considering do-

ing so this year.

Large companies that sell

the technology are fighting

back by seeking regulations

that would allow its use, with

restrictions.

WASHINGTON—The Ameri-

can Civil Liberties Union is su-

ing federal agencies for records

about the use of facial recogni-

tion at airports and other

places where travelers enter

the U.S., the latest salvo in a

nationwide activist campaign

to halt use of the technology.

The suit, filed Thursday in

U.S. District Court for the

Southern District of New York,

seeks to compel the Depart-

ment of Homeland Security

and other agencies to release

documents regarding the pol-

icy’s use, including government

contracts with airports and air-

lines. The group asked for the

records in January under the

Freedom of Information Act.

The Department of Home-

land Security didn’t respond to

a request for comment.

The department has been

expanding the use of facial rec-

ognition to identify people en-

tering the country at airports,

and in August told Congress it

had processed 20 million trav-

elers using the technology.

Airlines have also partnered

with the government to scan

faces to identify travelers in

place of boarding passes.

At a February congressional

hearing, a U.S. Customs and

Border Protection official said

the technology is helping to

shorten airport lines and to

catch impostors traveling with

someone else’s passport.

The ACLU and other groups

say deploying facial recogni-

tion at airports is a slippery

slope toward more invasive

surveillance.

BYRYANTRACY

ACLU Sues Over

Facial-ID Tech

Used on Travelers

Agencies say the

technology speeds

travel and helps

catch impostors.