House leaders are eyeing a Plan B that would reauthorize the country's spying powers after 19 Republicans blocked passage of the bill Wednesday.
The plan under discussion would shorten the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) from five years to two years and return the controversial package to the Rules Committee, Commissioners and Situation said. A person familiar with the matter told The Hill. .
Sources said leaders are considering submitting the bill as a standalone bill to the Rules Committee, aiming to separate FISA from other Republican bills opposed by Democrats.
But another person familiar with the matter said the path forward was still under discussion.
The new plan does not signal a major change in the approach to FISA 702, which prompted 19 Republican senators to defy leadership and vote against starting debate.
The FISA reform bill is expected to include a vote on an amendment that would add a warrant requirement to the law, something 19 people say should be included in the basic text. They are calling for the FISA bill, previously authored by the Judiciary Committee, to be the primary legislative tool.
However, the change in the reauthorization period from five years to two years may attract some FISA skeptics. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), a member of the Judiciary Committee who is pushing the warrant request, said the shorter deadline allows lawmakers to reform the controversial policy sooner rather than later. He said it would be.
“I think it's probably to continue monitoring and to be able to come back in two years for more reforms,” he said Thursday.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) speaks with reporters after voting at the Capitol on March 13, 2024. (Alison Robert)
Still, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Thursday that Democrats have no intention of helping Republicans pass rules, even if FISA is to be considered as a standalone rule.
FISA 702 allows the government to spy on foreign nationals abroad. But Americans who communicate with their targets wipe out their interactions in the process.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have advocated requiring a warrant before considering information sent by Americans when speaking to targets.
They are at odds with opponents in both parties who believe it would water down the program and blind law enforcement to information they might need to act on in real time.
The 19-person usurpation of the rules vote caused chaos as it blocked plans to include a full House vote on warrant requirements.
This position is supported by all those who have pushed for the warrant, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who wants the full House to consider the issue. do not have.
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Those same lawmakers were furious that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) made things worse by indicating he was not in favor of modifying the warrant requirement.
“What we ended up with was a bill that didn't have warrant protection in it. We had to add it as an amendment. And the Speaker of the House opposed the amendment. And that's pretty much it,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who voted against the rule, told reporters after the vote.
The push to kill the bill gained further momentum on Wednesday when former President Trump weighed in on the FISA debate and urged lawmakers to “kill FISA” in a post on Truth Social.
Updated at 2:23pm EDT
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