Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) speaks to reporters as he arrives for a House Republican conference meeting on Capitol Hill on March 6, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Kent Nishimura | getty images
The House on Thursday passed a 45-day extension of a controversial foreign surveillance program by a vote of 261-111, with the vote coming just as the program was set to expire.
The Senate passed the measure unanimously earlier Thursday, which will now go to President Donald Trump for his signature. The President has urged Congress to reauthorize the program.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 allows the government to collect communications of people outside the US, including how they interact with Americans. Opponents have argued that expanding the program without amendments could lead to abuse and allow the US government to spy on American citizens, while supporters say it is an important national security tool.
The Senate rejected a bipartisan House proposal to reauthorize the program for three years. That measure included unrelated language that would have banned the Federal Reserve from establishing a central bank digital currency.
Senators from both parties opposed the digital currency language and instead turned to their own short-term solutions to FISA, pushing for broader negotiations until lawmakers return to Washington after a scheduled recess in mid-May.
“This is not the outcome any of us wanted for the FISA 702 program, but here we are,” Representative Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said during debate on the House floor Thursday.
Jordan said, “The 702 program is incredibly important to protecting our national security and advancing our interests abroad. This temporary extension will ensure there is no disruption to the program while we resolve our differences over longer-term reauthorization.”
Thursday’s vote marks the second short-term extension of the program in less than a month. On April 17, the House and Senate passed a 10-day patch, extending the monitoring program until Thursday.
Members on both sides of the aisle concerned about personal privacy have called for an end to the government’s warrantless collection of their own citizens’ data as part of the program.
“Nothing about our security should prevent us from protecting our rights. We can have both,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said from the House floor.