Wyden urges Democrats to back FISA privacy amendments
Sen. Ron Wyden sent a letter to his Democratic colleagues urging them to reject a clean renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ahead of an expected House vote on Wednesday.
The federal surveillance authority expires Monday, and House GOP leaders delayed a renewal vote set for Wednesday after disagreements with some Republicans over including amendments addressing privacy concerns. The White House and Republican leaders are calling for renewal without any changes, but a bipartisan group of lawmakers are demanding guardrails to address concerns AI can significantly enhance the government’s mass surveillance capabilities.
“With recent developments in AI supercharging how the government can surveil Americans, Congress must use this upcoming debate to make necessary reforms to all our surveillance laws,” Wyden (D-Ore.) said in the letter obtained exclusively by POLITICO.
The senator sent a similar letter to House Democrats on Monday.
A final vote in the House could happen around 10 p.m. Wednesday if GOP leadership can strike an agreement with holdouts on changes to the bill. That would set up a possible Senate vote on Thursday.
Related Knowledge Center: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — Section 702
Congress is deeply divided about renewal of a section of FISA that would give the federal government extraordinary leeway in its investigations and surveillance of American citizens.