Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who objected to the final passage of a bill reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), is rallying colleagues for an eleventh-hour effort to halt it unless an amendment is passed for a warrant requirement.
Rep. Luna has issued a letter to both Republicans and Democrats, urging them to withhold support for the reauthorization bill until a warrant requirement for government officials is incorporated to address concerns regarding FISA abuse and privacy.
She explained in her letter that there is another vote on Monday, stating that 218 total votes are needed to ‘stand against the unconstitutional surveillance of Americans.’
Luna's letter highlighted an amendment put forth by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), aiming to introduce a warrant requirement for government officials seeking to conduct U.S. person searches within the data collected through foreign surveillance.
This amendment has already sparked intense debate crossing party lines, with opponents expressing concerns about potential risks to national security. Ultimately, the amendment narrowly failed to pass in a 212-212 tie vote.
The Biden administration backs the reauthorization bill, which proposes a two-year extension of Section 702 and incorporates certain FISA reforms, but it has pushed back on the notion of including a warrant requirement.
Luna issued a targeted appeal to the 56 members who initially supported the amendment from Biggs but later voted to pass the FISA bill. She urged them to oppose Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner's (R-OH) motion to table her motion to reconsider the bill before the April 19 deadline to extend Section 702.
UPDATE: Luna’s motion failed to pass after Rep. Mike Turner responded with a motion to table, denying it in a vote of 259-128. This sends the FISA reauthorization bill to the Senate for final approval.
