The Senate agreed to a deal to vote on extending an expiring foreign surveillance law on Friday evening, an agreement that puts Congress on track to avoid a weekend expiration of a key program.
The legislation, which reauthorizes Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, has already passed the House and after passing the Senate will go to President Joe Biden for his signature after a prolonged congressional battle over access to Americans’ information.
“We have good news for national security,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as he announced the deal. “Allowing FISA to expire would have been dangerous.”
Senate leaders urgently warned senators not to go over the midnight authority deadline as the chamber haggled over amendments, warning it would endanger national security that terrorists could exploit and risk a loss of authority in the program. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell put the choice in stark terms on Friday morning, saying the choice before the Senate amounted to: “Pass the House reform bill, or give free reign to foreign intelligence operatives and terrorists to target America.”
READ MORE:
www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/04/19/congress/surveillance-vote-00153476