To amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 through October 20, 2027, and for other purposes.
- Bill Number
- H.R. 8035
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 2
- Policy Area
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-04-17: Rule H. Res. 1175 failed passage of House.
- Last Updated
- 2026-06-11T23:41:29Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
This bill (H.R. 8035) aims to extend the expiration date of Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978—a set of rules allowing U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct targeted electronic surveillance of non-U.S. persons abroad for national security purposes—through October 20, 2027. It makes technical updates to related transition rules.
Key Provisions
- Extends repeal date: Amends Section 403(b) of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to delay the automatic repeal of Title VII until October 20, 2027 (previously set to expire earlier).
- Updates transition procedures: Modifies Section 404(b) to align references with the new repeal date, ensuring smooth handling of ongoing surveillance activities during the wind-down period.
- Effective date: Changes take effect on the earlier of the bill's enactment or April 19, 2026.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Pushes back the "sunset" (automatic expiration) of Title VII authorities from their prior date (tied to earlier reauthorization acts like the 2017 FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act and the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act) to October 20, 2027.
- Replaces specific dated language in repeal and transition sections with references to the new fixed date and statutory citations, simplifying future updates.
Potential Impacts
- Government agencies: Enables the National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence bodies to continue warrantless surveillance of foreign targets (e.g., terrorists or spies) without interruption, maintaining tools for counterterrorism and foreign intelligence gathering.
- Citizens: No direct change to protections for U.S. persons, but "incidental" collection of their communications (when talking to foreign targets) persists under existing FISA court oversight rules.
- International relations: Supports ongoing U.S. intelligence operations abroad, potentially aiding alliances but raising concerns from foreign governments about privacy intrusions.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Intelligence and law enforcement agencies (e.g., NSA, FBI): Benefit from extended authorities.
- Congress: Committees like Judiciary and Intelligence oversee and must periodically reauthorize these powers.
- U.S. citizens and privacy advocates: Affected indirectly through potential data collection; groups like the ACLU often push for reforms or stricter limits.
- Foreign individuals and governments: Primary targets of surveillance.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Reinforces FISA's framework, which operates under a special FISA Court for approvals, balancing secrecy needs with oversight; no new warrants required for non-U.S. targets.
- Constitutional: Ties into Fourth Amendment debates on unreasonable searches—critics argue incidental U.S. data collection needs more protections, but courts have upheld Title VII.
- Political: Short-term extension (about 18 months from 2026) likely sets stage for future debates on reforms, reforms, amid partisan divides on security vs. privacy; reflects ongoing congressional pattern of temporary renewals to force regular review.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Rep. Crawford, Eric A. "Rick" [R-AR-1]
Recent Actions
- 2026-04-17: Rule H. Res. 1175 failed passage of House.
- 2026-04-15: Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 1175 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 8035 with 1 hour of general debate. Motion to recommit allowed. Bill is closed to amendments.
- 2026-03-24: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 2026-03-24: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 2026-03-24: Introduced in House
- 2026-03-24: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- To amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 through October 20, 2027, and for other purposes. — issued 2026-03-24 — PDF (3 pages)