The GOP lawmaker who objected to the final passage of a bill that would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is urging colleagues to join her in an eleventh-hour push to stop it unless one major change is made.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) sent out a letter to Republicans and Democrats this weekend urging them to oppose the reauthorization legislation, at least until a warrant requirement is added to address concerns about FISA abuse and privacy.
“The fight for taking down the unconstitutional FISA is not over,” Luna said on X.
The fight for taking down the unconstitutional FISA is not over. There is another vote on Monday! I have sent this letter to all Republicans, and we are sending it to all Democrats. We need 218 to stand with us against the unconstitutional surveillance of Americans. pic.twitter.com/TKe59Rvf8d
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) April 13, 2024
“There is another vote on Monday! I have sent this letter to all Republicans, and we are sending it to all Democrats,” Luna added. “We need 218 to stand with us against the unconstitutional surveillance of Americans.”
Luna’s letter touted an amendment from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) that would add a warrant requirement for government officials wanting to do U.S. person searches in the information that gets swept up in foreign surveillance.
The amendment has already proven to be a contentious proposition that spilled across party lines, with opponents arguing that it could jeopardize national security. It narrowly failed to pass in a 212-212 tie vote.
“The majority of Republicans voted for my warrant requirement amendment,” Biggs said in a post to X. “86 voted with the Deep State. We need Republicans in Congress who believe that you shouldn’t be surveilled by your federal government.”
While the Biden administration supports the reauthorization bill, which would extend Section 702 for two years and implement some FISA reforms, it has pushed back against the warrant requirement idea.
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The amendment would “prohibit U.S. officials from reviewing critical information that the Intelligence Community has already lawfully collected, with exceptions that are exceedingly narrow and unworkable in practice,” the White House said in a statement.
Congress and Biden have until April 19 to extend Section 702 before it sunsets.
Luna made a specific appeal to the 56 members who voted to pass the FISA bill after supporting the amendment from Biggs. She asked them to oppose Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner’s (R-OH) motion to table her motion to reconsider the bill.
Lawmakers “must fight to get the Biggs Amendment adopted in the final passage of this legislation,” Luna said.
