House Fails to Extend FISA Section 702 Surveillance Powers Amid Bipartisan Criticism

Efforts to renew a contentious surveillance law have stalled after two House votes last week failed to extend the spying powers under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for 18 months without modifications.

Instead, Congress passed a 10-day reauthorization, leaving lawmakers scrambling to find a viable solution before the April 30 deadline.

House Speaker Introduces New Three-Year Extension Bill

On Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., introduced a bill to extend Section 702 for three years. The proposal includes a provision stating that government officials cannot use Section 702 to target Americans.

Under Section 702, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies can conduct warrantless searches of electronic communications belonging to foreign targets. However, these targets sometimes communicate with U.S. persons, allowing officials to search the communications database using personal information.

Critics Call Proposal 'Empty-Calories' and 'Smoke and Mirrors'

Critics argue that the language restricting the targeting of Americans is insufficient. Jake Laperruque, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology’s security and surveillance project, dismissed the bill as ineffective.

“On the whole, it is an empty-calories bill and nothing more that does not engage in reform.”

Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union’s political advocacy division, emphasized that the bill fails to address key concerns:

“It doesn’t require a warrant or any kind of court process for U.S. person searches. The main reform just restates existing law… . It’s also completely irrelevant to the issue at hand, because backdoor searches have never been the product of the government intentionally targeting U.S. persons under 702. The problem is that they are incidentally collecting U.S. person communications and searching the communications of Americans.”

Gene Schaerr, general counsel of the conservative Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability, labeled the proposal as deceptive:

“[It’s] smoke and mirrors.”

Supporters Highlight Privacy Protections

Despite criticism, the legislation gained support from Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, who had previously introduced an amendment to ban government purchases of Americans’ data from third-party brokers. Davidson co-sponsored a separate bill requiring a warrant for U.S. person searches under Section 702.

“Collectively, this set of reforms provides robust privacy protections for American citizens. Congress should bank this win and reauthorize Section 702. Then, we should swiftly begin gutting the unmitigated surveillance state left growing unchecked during these 702 fights.”

However, the proposal has not yet secured enough backing from House Freedom Caucus members or Democrats.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., expressed strong skepticism on X (formerly Twitter), stating that he does not trust FBI Director Kash Patel with the current powers granted under Section 702.