Reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act passed the House on Wednesday despite objections from civil libertarians in both the conservative and progressive caucuses.
In a 278 to 136 vote, the House approved a series of modest reforms to the FISA process in response to FBI abuse of the surveillance law during the Russia investigation.
The vote was largely down the middle in both parties, with 152 Democrats and 126 Republicans supporting the legislation and opposition coming from 75 Democrats, 60 Republicans and 1 conservative independent. There were 15 lawmakers who did not vote.
Lawmakers were forced to reach a compromise as three surveillance provisions were set to expire Sunday. The provisions allow the FBI to collect business records on investigation subjects, wiretap subjects after they’ve changed phones, and monitor terrorism suspects not affiliated with an organization.
The legislation approved Wednesday includes multiple FISA revisions, including enhanced penalties for those who abuse the process for political purposes, increased congressional oversight, transcripts of court proceedings, and a historical review of all FISA rulings since 1977.
It also eliminates the metadata-collection program, which let the National Security Agency secretly collect phone logs and internet data from millions of Americans.
Civil liberties hawks on both sides of the aisle said the bill was watered down and doesn’t include the significant reforms they say are necessary.
“I cannot support the bill that is before us today,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, California Democrat. “In the end, we have a bill that I think should not be supported.”
“I keep hearing this is a good first step. No, this isn’t the first step, this is the last step and as my friend Ms. Lofgren said, it doesn’t go far enough,” said Rep. Louie Gohmert, Texas Republican.
But a bipartisan coalition of House leadership promoted the bill as a much-needed change to the FISA process. They also highlighted that it was hammered out after much negotiation and debate from leading Democrats and Republicans.
“This bipartisan legislation addresses the need for greater accuracy and accountability in the FISA process. It does not damage the legitimate authorities the intelligence community uses to keep us safe, but it does strengthen the protection for civil liberties,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, California Republican.
Rep. Adam Schiff, California Democrat and intelligence committee chairman, said he “strongly” supports the bill.
“This bill makes a number of critical and important reforms while simultaneously protecting the national security of the United States,” he said.
Some supporters of the bill conceded that it did not go far enough, but still hailed its passing as a positive.
“Those are victories for the American citizen. Not as much as we’d like, but it is a darn good first step and I would urge people to support the bill,” Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
House negotiations did not include the Senate, so it is unclear what will happen to the measure there. Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky on Wednesday urged President Trump to veto the House legislation.
Both senators said FISA needs a more sweeping overhaul than the measures proposed in the House bill.
But a coalition of high-ranking Republican senators — including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina — urged their colleagues to pass the House bill.
“This legislation balances the need to reauthorize these critical authorities with the need for tailored reforms to increase accountability,” they said in a joint statement.
The Justice Department and the FBI had pushed for the bill saying it renews critical crime-fighting tools they use to combat terrorism.
“The bill contains an array of new requirements and compliance provisions that will protect against abuse and misuse in the future while ensuring that this critical tool is available when appropriate to protect the safety of the American people,” Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.
Both Mr. Barr and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray have emphasized that none of the provisions facing expiration were abused by the FBI during the Russia investigation.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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