House GOP makes new bid to overhaul FISA spy laws

House Republicans offered up a new plan Thursday to tweak laws for spying on foreigners.

It would extend the sunset on a broad section of the government’s surveillance powers from two years to three, and it would add new accountability measures.

These measures include new restrictions on database searches for U.S. persons, mandatory civil liberties reviews, an audit of procedures for targeting people to spy on and criminal penalties for abuses.

The bill amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which focuses on oversight of FBI surveillance queries and civil liberties protections.

A crucial part of the law, Section 702, allows U.S. spy agencies to intercept communications of foreigners abroad. Americans can be ensnared in surveillance when communicating with foreigners.

Currently, Section 702 must be reauthorized every two years, setting up a recurring debate in Congress over spy powers. The House GOP bill would delay that debate to every three years. That’s one of the biggest changes in the House bill.

Last week, Congress extended the deadline to reauthorize FISA from April 20 to April 30. Senate leaders tried to take the reins on the legislation, but House leaders immediately pushed back.

The House Republican proposal to reauthorize Section 702 includes new oversight and penalties for abuses of the surveillance authority, but it does not include the warrant requirements that GOP hard-liners wanted.

The House bill would require the FBI to send monthly written reports to the Civil Liberties Protection Officer within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence documenting every query run using a U.S. person’s information.

Each query would be reviewed for compliance, and if a query appears improper or abusive, it would be referred to the Intelligence Community Inspector General for investigation.

The legislation also penalizes FBI officers or employees who knowingly and willfully violate querying procedures or who falsify records about compliance.

Those who commit such violations face up to five years in prison and/or fines. This is a new criminal penalty in addition to the existing unauthorized disclosure penalties.

The bill also explicitly prohibits the intentional targeting of U.S. persons under Section 702. To surveil a U.S. person, the government must obtain a proper court order — electronic surveillance, physical search or a standard criminal warrant.

Additionally, the legislation calls for congressional access to FISA court proceedings. The U.S. attorney general is required, within 60 days, to revoke existing access procedures and issue new protocols that ensure Members of Congress and designated staff can actually attend FISA Court proceedings.

The House bill also adds new restrictions on searching the 702 database for U.S. persons.

The bill also calls for a Government Accountability Office audit of targeting procedures. It directs GAO to assess how Section 702 targeting is implemented technically and operationally, with a report due to relevant congressional committees within one year.