House Passes Surveillance Law Revamp Without Warrant Requirement Privacy Advocates Wanted

The House on Friday narrowly passed a bill to renew a controversial anti-terror foreign spying program over the objections of pro-privacy and civil liberties advocates.

The bill to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a 9/11-era provision allowing U.S. agencies to keep track of foreigners abroad but that had been used to spy on Americans in the past, is on track to go to the Senate after the 273 to 147 vote.

The fight over renewing Section 702 created an uncommon alliance between the House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative and libertarian Republican House members, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, composed of liberal House Democrats, to demand more safeguards against spying on American citizens.

That coalition was opposed by a similarly bipartisan group of lawmakers worried the proposed changes would hamper the effectiveness of the provision, especially in the wake of a potentially revived ISIS terror group and other global dangers.

While the bill’s passage was a victory for the White House, and for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) who saw an initial attempt to get the bill on the floor fail Wednesday, it came with a cost. Instead of a five-year reauthorization, the bill has only a two-year one.

But pro-Section 702 forces won a major victory as they successfully fought off an amendment that would have required the government to get a warrant to search the materials of Americans whose communications with targeted foreigners were swept up in the spying. The amendment lost on a dramatic 212-212 tie vote, failing to get the majority required to be adopted.