Following a recent Senate vote at Friday midnight, the NSA has begun preparing to close its mass surveillance programs. 
The legal basis of these programs states that the Patriot Act, expires at the end of the month. So lawmakers were called upon to decide whether the agency's mass surveillance systems would remain and how long they would be able to intervene.
The Senate has failed to pass a replacement bill for the Freedom of Information Act USA, but also another proposed by Senate Majority Leader Mr. McConnell (R-KY) who wanted the extension of the program as it is.
"The process has already begun."
As a response to the latest events, officials said that NSA measures should be taken to shut down mass surveillance programs, such as the controversial collection of "metadata" from millions of phone calls.
According to Los Angeles Times, an agency official reports that "that process has begun."
After Congress was unable to agree on limiting or renewing the Patriot Act, the NSA is being forced to end programs based on the bill, which was originally passed in the wake of attacks of September 11.
Many see the Freedom Act as the most viable solution. It extends extensively to key parts of the Patriot Act, but with some limitations and commitments.
Specifically, it will amend section 215, which has been broadly interpreted (recently ruled illegal by the Court of Appeals) to justify the NSA's mass surveillance programs.
The House passed the bill last month, but three votes in the Senate fell short.
An extraordinary last-minute meeting is scheduled for Sunday, May 31, to try to pass a bill before the end of the deadline coming on June 1st.
