U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson tells WisPolitics he voted for the USA Freedom Act because he “recognized reality,” despite his belief that limiting NSA monitoring of citizens’ telephone calls “is hampering our ability to do effective intelligence gathering.”

The House bill, co-authored by U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls, received 57 votes late last week, three votes shy of what was needed to advance the legislation after it had already cleared the House. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, RKy., favors a re-authorization of the full Patriot Act, leaving the Senate in a last-minute scramble as some provisions in the law are set to expire.