House Committee Set for High-Stakes Vote on Spy Power Reauthorization

Lawmakers will move forward today with a high-stakes proposal to reauthorize a controversial spying power that has ignited sharp disputes and drawn bipartisan battle lines in Congress. The authority in question, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), is one of several post 9/11 surveillance authorities that have come under scrutiny as some lawmakers have tried to reclaim our civil liberties lost in the 2000s. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is expected to bring Rep. Laurel Lee’s (R-Fla.) “Reforming Intelligence and Securing America” Act to the floor for a vote this week. To begin that process, the House Rules Committee today will markup a bill that would reauthorize Section 702 while making minimal reforms to the system....