House sends foreign surveillance reform bill to Senate

The House on Monday concluded proceedings on a bill to reform state warrantless surveillance powers, sending the controversial reauthorization to the Senate.

Monday’s vote came after a tie vote on the floor of an amendment to add a warrant requirement to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

The bill was rejected by a vote of 212 to 212, under pressure from privacy hawks.

Two representatives then filed competing motions on whether to reconsider the issue, urging the House to consider the bill again after Friday’s approval of the FISA bill without the warrant requirement.

Lawmakers on Monday introduced a motion to take up the bill again, voting 259-128.

The vote sent the reauthorization bill to the Senate without a warrant requirement, uniting some conservatives and progressive Democrats.

Section 702 authorizes national intelligence agencies to spy only on noncitizens residing abroad. But in the course of these operations, the government frequently scavenges communications from Americans who have contact with foreign nationals under surveillance.

Proponents of the warrants argued that they were necessary to protect Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights, but opponents argued that warrants were not legally required and that law enforcement could access information in real time. They argued that it watered down the bill by preventing people from acting on it.

The bill reauthorizes FISA 702 for two more years and includes some reforms to the program, including significantly narrowing the number of employees who can use the 702 database to query information about Americans. There is. Such queries will also be subject to post-audit.

“This is best understood as the most comprehensive set of reforms in the history of the 702 program. This is a true reform bill that changes the way we do business, especially the FBI, to improve civil liberties and It changes things in a way that is more protective of privacy,” a senior Justice Department official told The Hill on Monday.

In the Senate, the bill similarly faces opposition from those who want stronger reforms.

“This bill represents one of the most dramatic and frightening expansions of government surveillance power in history,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, a member of the Congressional Intelligence Committee and a leading advocate of Section 702 reform. (D-Ore.) wrote on social issues: Platform X immediately after the House bill passed.

“We will do everything in our power to prevent it from passing in the Senate.”