Congress approves brief extension of FISA surveillance; disputes unresolved
by Kerry Picket · The Washington TimesCongress has approved a 10-day extension of a warrantless spy program after conservative Republican hard-liners refused to support GOP leaders’ urging to reauthorize the law without any modifications.
The approval came Friday morning after the Senate, by unanimous consent, voted for the short-term extension of the federal surveillance program. It followed a late-night debate on the House floor that ended with lawmakers agreeing to temporarily approve the surveillance measure as is.
The measure, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), must be reauthorized every two years and allows U.S. spy agencies to intercept communications of foreigners abroad. Americans can be ensnared in surveillance when communicating with foreigners.
The FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies have also searched the collected data for information about Americans.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, told reporters that he placed the bill directly on the Senate calendar for potential floor action, a procedural maneuver that allows it to bypass the Judiciary Committee, and proposed a three-year extension of the surveillance power without making any of the major reforms that many lawmakers are demanding.
“We’ve just got to have optionality here,” Mr. Thune said. “I don’t know what the House is going to be, and so we’ll be preparing accordingly,” saying he wants the upper chamber to take the lead on the legislation.
Sen. Ron Wyden, Oregon Democrat who wants safeguards implemented into the FISA reauthorization before it is extended beyond the April 30 deadline, is not concerned about approving Section 702 without changes for 10 more days.
“I believe that this was the right decision for today,” he said.
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Conservatives and liberals have fought for changes to the surveillance law every two years, leading to last-minute fights.
Conservatives, many from the Freedom Caucus, are concerned about how the program breaches Americans’ privacy rights, while liberals say the program need better guardrails or the law will be weaponized by the administration to spy on people and groups who oppose President Trump.
“Just a couple of months ago, they tried to put me and other members of Congress in prison for doing our job,” said Rep. Jason Crow, Colorado Democrat, referring to clashes over unannounced inspections of migrant detention facilities. “So, I want additional guardrails. I want additional protections. Those are the civil liberties that Americans expect and what they deserve.”
House Republicans leaders Friday night attempted to extend the FISA expiration to every five years, leading to a rebellion by GOP holdouts of the reauthorization that was set to expire on Monday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, can lose only two votes with his narrow majority, having failed twice previously to reauthorize the program.
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President Trump supports renewing Section 702 as is, despite his first campaign falling victim to FISA abuse. The FBI in the Obama administration used bogus information to obtain FISA warrants to spy on Trump 2016 campaign adviser Carter Page.
Mr. Trump said on social media that, even if the law were used against him in the future, “I am willing to risk that as a Citizen in order to do what is right for our Country.”
The president recently called upon the GOP holdouts to meet with him at the White House to try to convince them to vote for a clean extension.
Trump administration officials and many Democrats in Congress, including those in leadership and on the intelligence committees, have argued the tool is necessary to protect U.S. citizens, securing Americans held hostage abroad and preventing terrorist attacks.
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Rep. Jim Himes, Connecticut Democrat and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the data collection companies used by FISA’s Section 702 has both a statutory authorization and court certification.
“And there are people who think that the court certification is enough. It’s not the companies to whom we demand emails and texts,” Mr. Himes said. “I have said that they will not provide that information without the statutory reauthorization. If this program stops…the world is a much, much more dangerous place.”
Republican leaders, including House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, who backs the clean reauthorization, said the necessary updates were made after 2016 and are confident Congress will not allow the spy program to expire.
“I don’t think the United States Congress is going to let the FISA program expire, which is good, because it’s an important program. We’re just trying to make sure it gets done in a way that protects Americans’ liberties,” he said. “You want to spy on foreigners, but when Americans get swept up in some of that, some of their information, you want to make sure when that information is looked at, it’s done so in a way that’s consistent with the Constitution.”
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• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.