Bipartisan House Effort Seeks to Extend Surveillance Powers Under FISA

The US House of Representatives in a rare bipartisan agreement is seeking to reform a surveillance law that was misused for political purposes in the Russia probe. It turns out a Justice Department investigation found that an application for a warrant to spy on a Trump campaign aide contained misinformation. 

Congress created the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to fight terrorism. It was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1978.

Lawmakers are making several revisions before renewing the law, including stronger congressional oversight in the FISA process, and punishing those who abuse the FISA court. 

The measure is trying to address several concerns of members of both parties. It mandates that the attorney general must approve in writing of an investigation if the target of electronic surveillance or a physical search is an elected federal official or a candidate. That provision is in line with a policy Attorney General William Barr has instituted in the Justice Department.

The revised bill would also scale back some current authorities, such as the government's access to certain records. It would also attempt to put stronger checks on some surveillance measures and make the process more transparent. 

It gives an oversight board the power to thoroughly examine the impact of FISA jurisdictions and powers on First Amendment activities and the extent to which decisions are made on the basis of race, religion, and ethnicity.

The bill is also intended to strengthen the accuracy of the applications that the Justice Department submits to the FISA court when it asks to eavesdrop on conversations of people in the US that it believes are agents of a foreign power. 

The current provisions of the act expire Sunday.  The measure could come to a floor vote before lawmakers leave Washington at the end of the week. 

It is not clear if the Senate would support the bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has supported renewing the act, but his office did not have an immediate comment on the draft released by the House.