Reforming FISA Section 702 and Securing Our Nation

In response to widespread Intelligence Community misconduct revealed by the Church Committee and others, Congress passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 to create a process allowing the government to collect foreign intelligence on U.S. soil with court approval and congressional oversight. 

In 2008, Congress added Section 702 to FISA to enable the targeting of foreigners outside the U.S. who use U.S.-based services – such as American telephone companies and email providers – to communicate. This helps us eavesdrop on foreign spies, break up WMD proliferation rings, and ensures we don’t relive the pre-9/11 failures to ‘connect the dots’ between terrorists plotting overseas and threats here at home.
 
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 are bringing forward 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.

House Republicans are working to ensure that our Intelligence Community has the tools they need to protect our nation from foreign threats while also reining in abuses of FISA against American citizens.