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119-hr-8512119th Congress

To amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 through April 20, 2029, and for other purposes.

Sponsored By: Representative Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3]

Introduced

Summary

Adds a warrant requirement and tighter limits on U.S. person targeting under FISA Section 702. This bill would extend Title VII authorities through April 20, 2029 and create rules that restrict when the government may collect and use communications of U.S. persons under section 702.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.

New warrant protection for U.S. persons

If enacted, the bill would bar officers and employees from intentionally targeting the communications of a United States person under section 702. The government could seek a judge‑issued warrant or other appropriate order supported by probable cause to target a U.S. person when the law allows or when a crime is involved. The bill would also stop prosecutors from using section 702 information against a U.S. person in a criminal trial if that information was gathered in violation of the new warrant rule. The FBI could only add unminimized section 702 data to its analytic repositories when the target is tied to an open, predicated national security investigation, and that investigation must be supported by probable cause if the target is a U.S. person.

Extend surveillance authorities until 2029

If enacted, the bill would push the statutory repeal date for Title VII authorities in the FISA Amendments Act to April 20, 2029 by replacing two April 30, 2026 dates with that new date. The extension would take effect on the earlier of the date this bill is enacted or April 29, 2026. This would keep the Title VII surveillance authorities available to federal agencies for a longer period.

More oversight and congressional access

If enacted, the bill would direct the Government Accountability Office to audit how section 702 targeting works and how technical systems are used. The GAO would report its findings to the House and Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees within one year, while protecting sensitive sources and methods. The bill would also require the Attorney General to revoke certain prior procedures and issue new procedures within 60 days so specified Members of Congress and staff can access Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court proceedings as described in the referenced statute.

New criminal penalties and query rules

If enacted, the bill would create new federal crimes for certain mishandling of section 702 materials. People who knowingly disclose or retain classified communications involving a known U.S. person could face fines and up to 8 years in prison. Intentional improper United States‑person queries or falsifying records about query compliance could carry fines and up to 2 years in prison, though the bill lists defenses such as supervisor authorization or good‑faith compliance with approved procedures. The bill would also remove an explicit supervisory phrase from an FBI query approval rule, changing the named approval language for U.S. person queries.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3]

LA • R

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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