House Pass Defense Bill With FISA Extension, Measure Heads to White House

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Wednesday, which included an extension of the controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) which was set to expire at the end of 2023. The legislation is now headed to President Joe Biden for his final signature.

The bill passed in the House with a 310-118 vote, as reported by CSPAN, seeing opposition from 73 Republicans and 44 Democrats. Notably, the defense package garnered greater support from Democrats, with 163 Democrats voting for it compared to 147 Republicans.

The House approved the Senate’s version of the extensive 3,000-page, $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It features a 5.2% salary increase for military personnel, allocates $11.5 billion for initiatives to counter China, and provides $800 million in military aid to Ukraine. The Senate passed the bill earlier with an 87-13 vote.

The $800 billion in aid to Ukraine dwarfs the $61 billion requested by President Biden from Congress. Biden’s proposed substantial aid package is currently stalled in Congress, with Republicans refusing to assist Ukraine until the Democrats agree to enact immigration laws aimed at strengthening the nation’s borders.

House conservatives expressed objections to the massive legislative package for failing to include provisions that would stop the Pentagon’s controversial abortion policy and for not preventing the Department of Defense from funding drag shows or offering access to transgender health services for military members and their dependents.

Additionally, they objected to the inclusion of a four-month extension of Section 702 of the FISA. This led to a preliminary vote to adjourn instead of proceeding with a vote on what they deemed a “flawed” bill.

Section 702 of the FISA, a contentious surveillance law set to expire at the end of 2023, has now been extended to April 19.

On Wednesday night, the Senate passed the NDAA despite Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introducing a motion to exclude the extension of Section 702. Paul contended that the FISA extension was irrelevant to the NDAA and should not be part of it.

He criticized the lack of action on reforms, stating, “Though we have known when 702 would expire for years, the uniparty never seriously considered or prioritized reforms. And now we are told that we simply have no choice but to extend Section 702 into 2024.” He emphasized that extending Section 702 limits Congress’s ability to enact reforms now and likely in the upcoming year.

During the Senate Vote, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) argued that intelligence agencies might potentially utilize the extension into 2025.

Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), expressing his discontent on X, criticized the bill, saying, “And today, Congress votes on another invasion of privacy. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is being weaponized to target American citizens.” He went on to add, “Strong reforms requiring a warrant and accountability for abuse passed Judiciary 35-2. Instead of that, we’re voting on FISA+NDAA to preserve the status quo. SHAME!”

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