Reauthorize

U.S. intelligence chiefs are making a strong push, backed by the White House, to reauthorize a controversial law that allows U.S. spy agencies to eavesdrop on foreign electronic communications.

Even in the ultrapolarized atmosphere of Capitol Hill, it should be possible to secure broad bipartisan agreement on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, the 1994 law at the center of the nation’s efforts to combat domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

The legislation, which passed both chambers of Congress this month by wide margins, essentially reauthorizes a Clinton-era law that provided money to states and cities for job retraining.

In April, Judge Brian M. Morris of the Federal District Court in Montana suspended the program, which is administered by the Army Corps of Engineers, saying that it had been improperly reauthorized in 2017.

A top national security official at the Justice Department is expected to urge Congress to reauthorize Section 702 during a speech at the Brookings Institution on Tuesday.