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
Would require a warrant to target the communications of U.S. persons under FISA Section 702. It would also extend Section 702 authorities through April 20, 2029 and add limits on data use, penalties for misuse, and new oversight steps.
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- U.S. persons and privacy: Would bar intentional targeting of U.S. persons under Section 702 without a warrant supported by probable cause. It would also prevent using Section 702-acquired information against a U.S. person in a criminal case if the acquisition violated the warrant rule.
- Intelligence and law enforcement: Would stop the FBI from adding unminimized Section 702 data into its analytic repositories unless the target is relevant to an open, predicated national security investigation supported by probable cause. It removes a specified supervisory approval requirement for U.S. person queries and creates criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure and queries, including up to 8 years for disclosure and up to 2 years for other violations.
- Congress and oversight: Would require new attendance procedures so Members of Congress and staff can access Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court proceedings. It mandates a Government Accountability Office audit of Section 702 targeting procedures and a report to relevant committees within one year.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
New warrant rules for U.S. persons
If enacted, the bill would bar intentionally targeting a United States person's communications under Section 702 unless the government gets a probable-cause warrant or other appropriate court order. The Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence would have to set joint procedures and standards to decide when probable cause exists. The bill would also bar prosecutors from using Section 702 information against a U.S. person in criminal trials when the information was collected in violation of that warrant rule. It would create criminal penalties for wrongful disclosure, improper queries, and false statements to the courts, with some defenses for authorized or good-faith official acts.
Surveillance authorities extended to 2029
If enacted, the bill would delay the scheduled expiration of certain Title VII (Section 702) surveillance authorities from April 30, 2026 to April 20, 2029. That date change would take effect on the earlier of the law's enactment or April 29, 2026. Federal agencies that rely on these authorities would be able to continue operating under them during the extended period.
More oversight for surveillance courts
If enacted, the bill would require the Government Accountability Office to audit how agencies target people under Section 702 and report to key House and Senate committees within one year. The audit must protect sensitive sources and methods. The bill would also require the Attorney General to revoke earlier procedures and issue new rules within 60 days to ensure specified Members of Congress and their staff can access Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court proceedings.
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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