The House of Representatives will soon vote to reauthorize a controversial surveillance program before it expires in nine years days. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires April 19, allows U.S. intelligence agencies to spy on foreign communications without authorization — and sometimes trap U.S. citizens in the process.
Previous negotiations over FISA reauthorization became so heated that House Speaker Mike Johnson withdrew the bill from consideration in February. At issue were provisions designed to protect Americans’ privacy: one banned data brokers from selling consumer data to law enforcement, and another required a search warrant to search Americans’ data. These changes are not included in the latest version of the bill, released on April 5. The House Rules Committee nevertheless advanced the bill on Tuesday. The House of Representatives gave the green light to debate the bill on Wednesday. House Majority Leader Tom Emmer (R-MN) said so Politically that the bill would come up for a vote on Thursday.
Per CQ appealJohnson praised the latest version of a bill in a letter to his colleagues, saying it contained dozens of “specific reforms,” including new procedures to restrict the FBI and “introducing unprecedented transparency throughout the FISA process.”
“If our bill fails, we will face an impossible choice and expect the Senate to come our way with a clean extension that contains no reforms at all,” Johnson wrote. “This is clearly an unacceptable option.”
Other lawmakers have rejected the idea that Section 702 is a warrantless surveillance program. The agency allows intelligence agencies to spy on foreign communications without authorization, meaning that the communications of Americans corresponding with intelligence targets can actually be monitored as well.
“If you are an American and you correspond with ISIS, yes, if we spy on ISIS, your communications will be collected,” Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH), the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said in an interview with CNN. “They want us to do this. All Americans would want us to try to make sure we protect ourselves.”
It is unclear whether Johnson will be able to get other members of his party to fall in line. Some members of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus have joined libertarians and progressive Democrats in pushing for FISA reform. Former President Donald Trump also took part in the debate. “KILL FISA. IT HAS BEEN ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME AND MANY OTHERS. YOU SPY ON MY CAMPAIGN!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
When reauthorization was voted on in February, some House Republicans described the privacy changes as non-negotiable. “We have to have these changes,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Politically in February. “There’s no way we won’t have them.”
Section 702 was last renewed in 2018.