A bill to reauthorize a spying program considered critical to U.S. national security is in limbo on Capitol Hill.
An attempt to reform and renew parts of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was blocked by House Republicans on Wednesday, another blow to President Mike Johnson.
Johnson and members of the GOP caucus met privately after the procedural vote failed, but disagreements remain, making FISA’s future uncertain.
The House aims to vote on a newly revised plan Friday morning.
Here’s what you need to know about the surveillance measure.
What is FISA?
Federal law sets out the rules and procedures for collecting foreign intelligence through electronic surveillance, physical searches, pen logs and more. He created the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) and the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review.
It was passed in 1978 following the Watergate scandal and other intelligence controversies uncovered at that time, including surveillance of American dissidents such as anti-war protesters and Martin Luther King Jr.
Since then, it has been modified several times, notably after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
What is Section 702?
The debate over FISA on Capitol Hill largely revolves around Section 702, which authorizes the U.S. government to collect the electronic communications of non-Americans outside the country without a warrant.
But this sometimes results in the collection of data on Americans who are in contact with these monitored individuals, making the subject controversial.
The U.S. Capitol building is illuminated by the rising sun, December 18, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Matt Rourke/AP
Critics of the program, such as civil liberties groups like the ACLU, have called for requiring a warrant to access these Americans’ data. Some lawmakers also oppose reauthorizing the program without an amendment requiring a mandate or other reforms to protect Americans’ privacy.
Intelligence officials, however, warned that changing the mandate would cripple a program relied on to fight terrorism.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said that if Congress imposed such a requirement, it would “blind us to the intelligence we have.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington, March 2, 2021.
Patrick Semansky/AP, FILE
Congress faces a time crunch to reach a resolution, as Section 702 expires on April 19.
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“If we lost 702, we would lose vital information about the threats that the American people expect us as a government to identify and combat,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.
This includes, he said, “terrorist threats against the homeland; fentanyl supply chains bringing deadly drugs into American communities; the recruitment of spies by hostile governments among us; transnational repression by authoritarian regimes; penetrations of our critical infrastructure; attempts by adversaries to illegally acquire sensitive dual-use and military products and technologies; ransomware attacks against major U.S. companies and nonprofits; Russian war crimes; And much more. »
When was FISA used?
Section 702 was used to target al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a US drone strike in August 2022. Al-Zawahiri was Osama bin Laden’s deputy and helped coordinate the September 11 attacks.
Section 702 played a role in locating ISIS commander Hajji Iman, who was killed by U.S. special operations forces in 2016, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The agency added that it has also been used to help the government better understand plans to smuggle fentanyl and other drugs into the United States and to mitigate ransomware attacks against American infrastructure.
Former President Donald Trump and some of his conservative allies in Congress have widely criticized FISA after surveillance by Carter Page, a former adviser to his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump this week urged lawmakers to “KILL FISA,” which which likely contributed to his disappearance earlier this week.
The Justice Department admitted errors in Page’s FISA surveillance applications, but the test did not include Section 702 but rather another provision of the law.
ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, Lauren Peller, Arthur Jones and Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
ABC News
