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Rules Committee reviews FISA section 702 reauthorization amid demands for stronger warrants and oversight
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Summary
Members and witnesses debated the three‑year reauthorization of FISA section 702, with intelligence witnesses stressing operational necessity and opponents seeking a warrant requirement and expanded civil‑liberties safeguards; sponsors described added ODNI review, GAO audit and criminal penalties for abuses.
The Rules Committee considered S.1318, the Foreign Intelligence Accountability Act, a three‑year reauthorization of FISA section 702, during a panel that included intelligence and judiciary witnesses. Proponents argued Section 702 is an essential tool to collect foreign intelligence and detect threats, while acknowledging reforms are warranted.
"Reauthorizing FISA's 702 is essential," a witness for the Intelligence Committee said, and outlined new oversight measures included in the draft bill: a requirement that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence review US‑person query justifications, periodic GAO audits of targeting procedures, and expanded criminal penalties for deliberate abuses of query rules.
Opponents and civil‑liberties advocates urged stronger limits. Representative Scanlon and others argued that querying databases that contain Americans' information requires a judicial warrant; they pressed for that amendment to be made in order for the floor vote. Representative Skowel described a history of documented abuses and recommended a judicial probable‑cause requirement for queries of US‑person data.
Committee debate also referenced public reports that the FBI queried FISA databases in ways critics say were improper; members said that history informed demands for clearer legal guardrails and independent oversight. Supporters responded that prior reforms (a 2024 package of 56 changes) have dramatically reduced the number and rate of problematic queries and that the new measure adds further front‑end and back‑end checks.
The committee did not complete floor‑rule decisions in the hearing. Members asked that amendments adding a warrant requirement be considered for the floor rule; the judiciary leadership noted the Rules Committee controls what amendments are in order.
