U.S. lawmakers seek temporary extension to internet spying program 12/22/2017 7:24:44 AM Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Majority Leader, arrives for a Republican conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., December 20, 2017 WASHINGTON (Reuters) DECEMBER 20, 2017  - Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are working to build support to temporarily extend the National Security Agency’s expiring internet surveillance program by tucking it into a stop-gap funding measure, lawmakers said. “I think clearly we need the reauthorization for FISA, and that is expected we’ll get that done” before the end of the year, Marc Short, the White House’s legislative director, said Wednesday on MSNBC. U.S. intelligence officials consider Section 702 among the most vital of tools at their disposal to thwart threats to national security and American allies. The law allows the NSA to collect vast amounts of digital communications from forei...