Here’s a recap of what Republicans achieved on the House Floor this week:

Reforming FISA Section 702 and Securing Our Nation ✅

FISA Section 702 is vital to our national security amid the rising threats we’re seeing from foreign adversaries like Hamas, China, Russia, and fentanyl-trafficking cartels – however, due to numerous abuses of FISA, the entire program is also in desperate need of reforms before reauthorization. 

In an outrageous abuse of trust, senior FBI agents misled the courts and relied on political opposition research to conduct surveillance on a Trump campaign official. Additionally, the FBI in particular has repeatedly failed to follow their own procedures for when they can appropriately search these sensitive foreign intelligence databases using the names or other personal information of Americans. 

To address these egregious problems while preserving this important national security tool, House Republicans passed legislation that reforms Section 702 querying procedures at the FBI, limits the use of information obtained under Section 702, requires greater oversight of Section 702 targeting decisions, reforms the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), imposes stronger criminal penalties for FISA violations, and holds leaders accountable for FISA abuses on their watch. 

H.R. 7888, the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, introduced by Rep. Laurel Lee, reforms and reauthorizes FISA to maintain national security while protecting Americans' privacy and addressing Intelligence Community abuses.

“FISA is an indispensable tool that protects us from national security threats within the United States and abroad. However, the FBI abused this program, causing Americans to lose trust in our federal government. This can never happen again, which is why I introduced the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISA),” said Rep. Laurel Lee.

“The RISA Act will bring meaningful change to surveillance operations that protect us against foreign threats, in addition to safeguarding our civil liberties. This bill increases transparency in surveillance applications, reduces the total number of FBI employees who have access to FISA, and holds government employees accountable who violate the authorities of FISA, setting civil and criminal penalties for those who misuse these tools. I voted in support of this bill for just that reason—to provide accountability and transparency for the American people while keeping our nation safe.” 

What Members Said: