Congress to Debate Between Rival Bills Revamping U.S. National Surveillance Laws

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – On Tuesday, the House is set to vote on two distinct legislative proposals aimed at reforming the principal espionage capabilities of the federal government, as outlined under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee have each introduced their own versions of legislation, each with significant differences, yet both enjoying bipartisan backing. The version that garners the most votes in the House will be forwarded to the Senate for consideration.

The legislation proposed by the House Judiciary Committee introduces more rigorous criteria for federal authorities when accessing the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) database to monitor the communications of foreign individuals overseas. The bill recognizes that American citizens can become inadvertently involved in surveillance while communicating with foreign targets. Under this proposed legislation, a warrant would be mandatory for searches using the identity of a U.S. citizen within the database, except in cases pertaining to national security.

The bill proposed by the House Judiciary Committee also includes measures to restrict the number of FBI staff in each field office and at FBI headquarters who are authorized to conduct searches within the FISA database. Additionally, the bill aims to address and close certain loopholes that currently permit the federal government to purchase data related to American citizens.

The bill from the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee emphasizes that Section 702 should be exclusively utilized for gathering foreign intelligence. It proposes a restriction on the FBI, barring them from conducting queries solely based on the “evidence of a crime”. Moreover, this proposal seeks to significantly reduce, by over 90%, the number of FBI staff who are authorized to approve inquiries concerning U.S. persons.

The proposed legislation from the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee includes provisions for heightened scrutiny and additional approvals for queries concerning “sensitive” U.S. persons, such as elected officials, political candidates, executive branch appointees, and members of the media.

Furthermore, this bill seeks to establish new criminal liabilities and administrative penalties, as well as enhance existing ones, for government officials found guilty of a range of deliberate misconduct.

The Freedom Caucus has declared their intention to utilize all the leverage at their disposal to bring about changes in the current law. They have emphasized that any reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act should only be considered if it includes significant reforms and is treated as an independent piece of legislation. However, the Caucus has also expressed their desire to pass a bill early in the coming year. In the interim, they are willing to support a temporary extension to prevent any interruption in the surveillance of national security threats.

Democratic and Republican leaders have issued a statement indicating that, should an agreement on a bill not be reached before Christmas, they plan to negotiate a four-month extension. This extension aims to grant Congress extra time for in-depth discussions and the development of a thorough overhaul of Section 702.

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