A bill to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is advancing to the House floor for a final vote, expected to occur by Thursday. An amendment aimed at ending warrantless surveillance will also be brought before the full House of Representatives for consideration.
The “Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act” proposes a five-year extension of Section 702 of FISA. This section allows the government to conduct targeted surveillance of foreign individuals located outside the United States, as outlined by the FBI.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), former chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, are among a bipartisan group of lawmakers sponsoring amendments to the FISA reauthorization bill aimed at addressing Fourth Amendment concerns. One of these amendments seeks to mandate that law enforcement obtain a warrant before conducting a “U.S. person query” for foreign intelligence collection under Section 702 of FISA. Presently, there is no such requirement in the existing law.
The House Rules Committee approved a bipartisan amendment on Tuesday evening aiming to prevent “warrantless searches of U.S. person communications in the FISA 702 database,” except in cases of imminent threats to life or bodily harm, consent searches, or known cybersecurity threat signatures. The amendment will now proceed to the House floor for further consideration in the legislative process.
An amendment put forward by Rep. Chip Roy, (R-TX), aimed at addressing FISA abuse also gained approval. This proposed amendment mandates that the FBI report to Congress on a quarterly basis the number of U.S. person queries conducted. Additionally, it grants specified congressional leaders access to attend Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) proceedings.
A bipartisan amendment proposed by Reps. Andy Biggs, Pramila Jayapal, Warren Davidson, and Zoe Lofgren sought to prohibit law enforcement and intelligence agencies from acquiring the content of communications and location data of U.S. persons without a court order. Unfortunately, this amendment did not pass out of committee.
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fl.), and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), proposed an amendment allowing the use of Section 702 information to screen foreigners traveling to the United States. This amendment was approved and will now proceed to the House floor for consideration by the entire House of Representatives.
