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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
FISA renewal bill clears procedural hurdle in the Senate as deadline
nears
By Ted Barrett and Shania Shelton, CNN
Updated:
3:48 PM EDT, Thu April 18, 2024
Source: CNN
A bill that reauthorizes Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act cleared a procedural hurdle on Thursday, paving the
way for its passage ahead of when the intelligence
The test procedural vote passed 67-32, with a combination of liberals
and conservatives voting against. It’s unclear if the renewal will
happen
“We will try as hard as we can to get reauthorization done today, if
not, senators should expect votes tomorrow,” Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer said on the floor.
Bipartisan critics of the bill could drag out the procedural clock
until Sunday — meaning 702 would lapse temporarily over their weekend
— unless they reach an agreement sooner, something they might do if
they are allowed votes on amendments addressing their key concerns with
the program.
Schumer’s efforts come as Senate critics have had a about Section
702 of FISA, notably that the government can get access without a
warrant to Americans’ data when they are interacting with foreign
targets of the law.
Under FISA’s Section 702, the massive amounts of internet and
cellphone data on foreign targets. Hundreds of thousands of
Americans’ information is incidentally collected during that process
and then accessed each year without a warrant — down from millions
of such queries the US government ran in past years. Critics refer to
these queries as “backdoor” searches.
The trove of data, including a large portion of US internet traffic, is
meant to provide US intelligence agencies with quick access to data
regarding foreigners in other countries.
According to one assessment, it forms the basis of most of the
intelligence the president views each morning and it has helped the US
keep tabs on Russia’s intentions in Ukraine, identify foreign efforts
to access US infrastructure, uncover foreign terror networks and thwart
terror attacks in the US.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court recently OK’d procedures
for the program through April 2025, but if the authority lapses on
Friday, it is possible that some US companies could refuse to
provide the government with data under that certification.
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