D-day for Congress as NSA surveillance powers expire

May is a frenetic month for the US Congress as it works to clear three dossiers: counter-terror agencies' surveillance powers, presidential authority to conclude free trade pacts, and sanctions relief for Iran if there is a deal in the nuclear talks. The surveillance issue is the most urgent as the authority the National Security Agency (NSA) claims to enjoy under the 2001 Patriot Act to mass-collect phone records and e-mails expires on 31 May. The NSA spy programmes have cast…