By Aldgra Fredly
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in the early hours of April 17 extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a law that grants the government authority for warrantless surveillance.
The bill cleared the House by unanimous consent, extending the reauthorization of FISA until April 30, after Republicans pushed for a longer, five-year extension, which was not approved.
The measure will now head to the Senate for a vote, which faces a tight deadline as the authorization is set to expire on April 20.
President Donald Trump earlier called on Republicans to unify and vote to bring a clean extension of the law to the floor.
Trump said that he had personally experienced what he called the “worst and most illegal abuse of FISA in our Nation’s History,” referencing disclosures that revealed the FBI had used Section 702 of FISA to spy on his 2016 presidential campaign as part of the Crossfire Hurricane operation.
Nevertheless, Trump noted that the U.S. military “desperately needs” Section 702 of FISA to protect national security and carry out its missions, especially as operations continue against Iran, which the president said were aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear weapons program.
“With the ongoing successful Military activities against the Terrorist Iranian Regime, it is more important than ever that we remain vigilant, PROTECT our Homeland, Troops, and Diplomats stationed abroad, and maintain our ability to quickly stop bad actors seeking to cause harm to our People and our Country,” the president said.
“I have spoken to many Generals about this, and they consider it VITAL. Not one said, even tacitly, that they can do without it—especially right now with our brilliant Military Operation in Iran.”
Section 702 targets intelligence from foreign nationals thought to be outside the United States. Yet it also enables intelligence agencies to gather “incidental” information from Americans who come into contact with targeted non-U.S. persons, all without a warrant.
Section 702 has long caused bipartisan discomfort on Capitol Hill and beyond.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) offered an amendment on April 15 that would require the Justice Department to obtain a court order before the FBI can access data collected from Americans, political groups, and nonprofits, with limited exceptions for addressing “significant and time-sensitive national security threats.”
“FISA 702 is too critical to allow it to expire, but the legitimate concerns about the possibility of abuse also demand that we consider additional reforms, exactly what my amendment seeks to accomplish,” Himes said in an April 15 statement.
Joseph Lord and Reuters contributed to this report.
