BREAKING: The House of Representatives has passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
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WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — House Republicans will hold another vote Friday over renewing crucial national security surveillance legislation before it expires next week. It comes amid FBI warnings about the heightened threat of an ISIS attack on U.S. soil.
The upcoming vote comes after 19 Republicans joined Democrats on Wednesday in voting against a rule for legislation to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), blocking the measure from advancing in a 228-193 vote against it. Section 702 authorizes warrantless surveillance of foreign persons located abroad. NewsNation partner The Hill notes that people have concerns, though, about the government also picking up communications from Americans interacting with those being spied on.
An amendment to the larger FISA bill that would require a warrant for any U.S. surveillance agency surveilling Americans did not pass after a tied vote of 212-212 on Friday.
FBI Director Christopher Wray warned this week that losing FISA increases the likelihood of a successful terrorist attack targeting America.
Wray said any potential attack could look similar to the one that killed nearly 150 people at a Russian concert hall last month. The attack was carried out by ISIS-K, a group formed in Afghanistan known for more extreme brutality than other ISIS groups.
In the United States, an 18-year-old was arrested one day before he allegedly planned to attack Idaho churches in the name of ISIS, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
NewsNation was the first to report that the Department of Homeland Security arrested four suspected terrorists who entered the U.S. and were identified after already being in the country. All of them spent a significant amount of time in the U.S. — one of them a full year — before being taken into custody.
Wray warns that without FISA, vital intelligence that would keep Americans safe would be lost for his agency and others who rely on it. Coupled with conflicts in Gaza, Yemen, Ukraine and elsewhere, Wray asserts losing FISA would be detrimental.
FISA is set to expire next Friday. The delay in its re-authorization is due to a section permitting agencies to conduct surveillance on foreign targets without a warrant. Republicans worry about the potential for Americans to be subjected to surveillance without a warrant if they’re included in these investigations.
NewsNation’s Sean Noone and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Author: Tom Dempsey
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