The Senate, on April 19, moved forward with the two-year reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, an issue that will not surface again until 2026. The decision will then rest with either incumbent President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump on how best to collaborate with Congress. Regrettably, under the current administration’s pressure, attempts to include a warrant requirement for queries of the Section 702 database were defeated in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The defeat occurred on a razor thin 212 to 212 margin on April 12.
This legislation passed through the House by a substantial but not veto-proof margin of 273 to 147, indicating only 65% support among those who voted. To override a veto requires two-thirds agreement in each chamber. The Senate also approved the FISA reauthorization by a vote of 60 to 34, representing just over half (63.8%) favoring it – again not veto-proof.
These results imply that if President Joe Biden was genuinely concerned about preventing FISA abuses or if another President like Trump was in office, a veto threat could have significantly influenced this legislation’s outcome. Unfortunately, Biden’s only pressure was towards reauthorizing Section 702 and thus it was done so without any assistance from him.
Interestingly enough, despite lack of Presidential support, the reform effort to include a warrant requirement fell short by just one vote in the House at a tie of 212 to 212 votes. This is an improvement from when similar reforms were attempted in 2013 following Edward Snowden’s revelations of mass surveillance using FISA on the American populace. At that time, former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.)’s reform attempts failed by a 205 to 217 margin.
However, it has been almost a decade since those attempts. Considering the sunset provisions and reauthorizations lasting from two years to four years or longer if Congress so decides, opportunities for FISA reform might only come up once a decade.
It is clear that changes are necessary to prevent abuses of mass surveillance against American citizens and it will take both a strong President and Congress to make these changes happen.
Source: Conservative Firing Line
Leave a Comment