After hours of deadlock, the majority leader of the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer, announced on Friday night, April 19, that Senators have reached an agreement to extend the surveillance program under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and plan to vote on it on Friday night.
The contentious Section 702 of FISA, which expands the surveillance powers of the intelligence agencies, was set to expire at midnight on Friday.
Schumer stated, “We bring good news for America’s national security. Senators have reached an agreement to clear the obstacles to approving the reauthorization of FISA tonight.”
He emphasized the importance of this provision in maintaining national security, stating that it “helps law enforcement agencies prevent terrorist attacks, drug trafficking, and violent extremism.”
Following the 9/11 attacks, Section 702 of FISA allows U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct warrantless surveillance on communications of non-U.S. persons overseas.
While monitoring foreign individuals, communications of American citizens can also be targeted, and some domestic law enforcement agencies can access this data without a warrant. This has drawn criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who argue that it violates constitutional privacy protections.
However, the White House, intelligence officials, and senior legislators on the House Intelligence Committee warned that not extending this provision could have catastrophic consequences.
Last week, the House passed a bill proposing a two-year extension of the authorization for Section 702.
This falls short of the initial desire for a five-year extension by leaders in both chambers. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson shortened the authorization by three years to placate conservative critics at the meeting.
Shortly after Schumer announced the agreement, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner urged colleagues to vote down any amendments to the bill.
He cautioned that making changes at this juncture would require sending the bill back to the House, meaning it would run out of time to extend the authorization.
He added, “Any changes to the bill at this moment essentially mean killing the bill.”
“Several telecommunications companies have contacted the Justice Department, stating that if the bill expires at midnight, they will cease complying with Section 702,” Warner said.