A bill to extend section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 for 18 months.
- Bill Number
- S. 4342
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 2
- Policy Area
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-04-16: Read twice and referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence.
- Last Updated
- 2026-05-06T16:27:57Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
This bill (S. 4342) aims to extend the authority under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978—a program allowing U.S. intelligence agencies to collect communications of non-U.S. persons abroad for national security purposes without individual warrants—for an additional 18 months, until October 20, 2027.
Key Provisions
- Amends Section 403(b) of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008:
- Changes the expiration date in paragraph (1) (50 U.S.C. 1881 note) from "two years after the date of enactment of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act" to October 20, 2027.
- Updates paragraph (2) (18 U.S.C. 2511 note) with the same new date.
- Makes a conforming amendment to Section 404(b)(1) of the same Act, updating the heading to reflect "October 20, 2027".
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Previously, Section 702 authority was set to expire two years after the enactment of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), which reauthorized it.
- This bill pushes the sunset date forward by 18 months to October 20, 2027, preventing a lapse in the program.
Potential Impacts
- Government agencies: Enables continued operations for intelligence agencies like the NSA, maintaining foreign surveillance capabilities without interruption.
- Citizens: U.S. persons' communications may incidentally be collected if interacting with foreign targets (known as "incidental collection"), raising ongoing privacy concerns.
- International relations: Supports U.S. counterterrorism and foreign intelligence efforts but could strain relations with allies if perceived as overly broad surveillance.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Intelligence community (e.g., NSA, FBI): Primary beneficiaries, as they rely on Section 702 for data collection.
- U.S. Congress: Select Committee on Intelligence oversees referral and future reauthorizations.
- Privacy and civil liberties groups (e.g., ACLU): Often oppose extensions due to lack of warrants.
- U.S. citizens and businesses: Potentially impacted by incidental collection affecting communications.
- Non-U.S. persons abroad: Direct targets of surveillance.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Maintains a program upheld by courts (e.g., FISA Court) but frequently challenged under the Fourth Amendment (protection against unreasonable searches).
- Constitutional: Balances national security needs against privacy rights; no new oversight or reforms added here.
- Political: Introduced by Sens. Grassley (R) and Cotton (R) amid debates on surveillance reform; short-term extension avoids immediate lapse but signals ongoing partisan divides on permanent changes or warrants for U.S. persons' data.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (1)
Recent Actions
- 2026-04-16: Read twice and referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence.
- 2026-04-16: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- To extend section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 for 18 months. — issued 2026-04-16 — PDF (2 pages)