Tension builds as McConnell effort to extend Section 215 of the Patriot Act, used to justify bulk US phone data collection, appears on verge of failure 10.50am ET Good morning and welcome to our live blog coverage of what could be the demise of surveillance law as we know it – barring a last-minute move from the Senate.Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell has been looking for a way to extend a key provision of the Patriot Act, known as Section 215, before the Senate breaks for the Memorial Day holiday.