Ahead of a series of votes on amendments to the USA Freedom Act, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made one last pitch to lawmakers at his weekly news conference Tuesday, acknowledging passage of the changes would be an “uphill battle” while emphasizing the “significant weakening” of National Security Agency capabilities under the House-passed legislation. “I think Congress is misreading the public mood if they think that Americans are concerned about the privacy implications of this. Let me say again, as other speakers have said repeatedly: no one is listening to your phone calls. If on the other hand, you’re phone banking somebody in Syria, the authorities are going to the FISA court to get permission, and it’s a pretty steep incline they have to get up in order to get permission to listen in to phone calls like that.”