The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives has approved the FISA bill to continue authorizations to collect foreign intelligence on foreigners, with the condition that it be extended for 2 years instead of 5 years.
The bill, which reactivates Section 702 of the FISA law, whose previous authorization expired on April 19, passed the House of Representatives with 273 “yes” votes against 147 “no” votes.
The bill, which has been sent to the US Senate, the next stage for enactment, is expected to receive support from both houses of the Senate.
FISA, which has been criticized for violating the constitutional right to privacy of US citizens, has been put to a vote 3 times in the last 5 months, but failed to reach a quorum.
However, White House intelligence chiefs and House Intelligence Committee officials have been repeatedly reminded of the need to extend the law, which was passed on September 11, 2001, after the first attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
On the other hand, some members of Congress had raised the need to reform Section 702 of FISA, stating that intelligence agencies, including the FBI, had “improperly” used their supervisory powers many times and abused this authority.
