To amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to extend certain expiring authorities, to restore certain expired authorities, and to institute reforms to protect the civil liberties of United States persons, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · November 28, 2023
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
# FISA Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2023
This bill extends and reforms the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which gives the government authority to conduct surveillance of foreign intelligence targets. The legislation extends the government's key surveillance authorities from December 2023 through December 2035 and adds significant protections for Americans' privacy and civil liberties.
The bill limits how the FBI can search information collected through foreign surveillance to prevent it from being used solely to find evidence of ordinary crimes. It requires FBI personnel to complete training before conducting surveillance queries and mandates written approval from leadership before searching for information about elected officials, political candidates, judges, journalists, and religious leaders. The FBI must also keep records of written justifications for why it searches for Americans' information.
The bill strengthens oversight and accuracy safeguards by requiring government attorneys to certify they have disclosed all information that could undermine their surveillance applications, establishing independent compliance officers at intelligence agencies, and requiring court transcripts be shared with Congress. It creates a new FISA Reform Commission composed of executive branch officials, members of Congress, and outside experts to review the surveillance law and recommend future reforms over the next seven years. The bill allocates $3 million to fund the commission.
The legislation also increases penalties for misconduct before the surveillance courts, prohibits using politically funded opposition research as a basis for surveillance warrants, and requires special FBI notification to Congress when surveilling members of Congress. It gives the secret surveillance court the authority to appoint independent lawyers to advise judges on privacy and civil liberties issues.
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