Press Releases
Ranking Member Himes Offers Amendment to FISA Section 702
Washington,
April 14, 2026
Washington, DC— Ranking Member Jim Himes today offered an amendment to the FISA 702 Reauthorization Bill to require the Department of Justice to seek a court order before the FBI can access the results of queries involving US persons, political organizations, and non-profit organizations, with limited exceptions to enable the FBI to address significant and time-sensitive national security threats. “FISA 702 is our nation’s most critical national security tool and the failure to renew it would make all Americans less safe. I have long supported reforms to FISA 702 to further increase protections for Americans’ privacy and civil liberties and to improve oversight of this powerful tool, including the more than 50 reforms that were instituted as a part of the 2024 reauthorization. In offering this amendment to the Rules Committee, I hope to show there is a path to build on those reforms to require court approval before the FBI can access the results of any query involving a US person, political organization, or nonprofit— with targeted exceptions to ensure the FBI can address significant national security threats. FISA 702 is too critical to allow it to expire, but the legitimate concerns about the possibility of abuse also demand that we consider additional reforms, exactly what my amendment seeks to accomplish.” The full amendment can be read here. |