House passes three-year spy powers extension with crypto amendment

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square

The U.S. House of Representatives, in a 235-191 vote Wednesday, passed a measure to extend the spy powers of the federal government for another three years. Because of an amendment added to the bill that would prevent the creation of a central bank digital currency, the Senate majority leader said it is dead on arrival in his chamber.

The House passed the three-year extension of FISA Section 702 spy powers after significant debate over its authority. The authority is meant to allow federal intelligence agencies to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance on foreign nationals of suspicion.

Twenty-two Republicans voted against the reauthorization and 42 Democrats voted in favor of it.

Members of Congress expressed concern that American citizens’ electronic data, including phone calls, emails and text messages, were routinely intercepted.

Many House Republicans and Democrats said the extension would be a violation of Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said the FISA extension includes meaningful reforms to the federal government’s spy powers. He pointed to the creation of a position within the office of the Director of National Intelligence that is tasked with conducting monthly reviews of FBI U.S. citizen searches.

“Today, every single U.S. person query conducted by the FBI is audited to ensure compliance with applicable requirements and legal standards,” Jordan said.

Jordan also pointed to reforms in the bill that would impose criminal penalties for individuals who intentionally conduct improper searches. The bill also requires an FBI attorney to approve a search on a U.S. citizen before it is conducted.

“The 702 program is incredibly important for protecting our national security and advancing our interests abroad,” Jordan said.

However, House Democrats said these reforms are not enough to protect American citizens from data surveillance. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., called for including a warrant requirement, judicial review, and probable cause requirements when the government conducts searches on American citizens.

He said the FISA extension bill goes against the Fourth Amendment. Raskin said the extension does not provide adequate protections to conduct more in-depth review.

“This three-year blank check to Trump and [FBI Director Kash] Patel and company leaves the executive branch free to conduct these searches with self-reporting and self-policing as the sole protection against their abuse of the Section 702 program,” Raskin said.

House leadership also tacked on an amendment to the FISA reauthorization that would prevent the creation of a central bank digital currency, a provision that would likely fail in the U.S. Senate.

Democrats slammed the blockade on a central bank digital currency and said it was entirely unrelated to the extension of FISA.

“This crypto bill is completely unrelated to the FISA bill and is a non-starter in the Senate,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said. “Republicans are obsessed with random fringe issues instead of doing literally anything to bring down the cost of living.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the addition of the amendment would be “dead on arrival” in the Senate, leading to further delays in the FISA extension, which lapses on Thursday.

The House will send the FISA extension to the Senate for a final vote. The central bank currency will likely not pass in the Senate’s vote.